DETAILED ACTION
The Request for Continued Examination (RCE) filed 10/21/25 has been entered. Claims 63-75 are still pending. In light of the substantive amendment, the previous rejections are withdrawn. However, revised parallel 103 rejections of the pending claims are detailed below. The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
(a) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
REJECTION #1: Reybrouck in view of Gibbs and Hattori
Claims 63-75 is/are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Reybrouck (U.S. Patent No. 5,682,980) in view of Gibbs (U.S. Patent Pub. No. 2003/0047899) and Hattori et al. (U.S. Patent Pub. No. 2009/0012688). Reybrouck is directed to an active suspension system. See Abstract. Gibbs is directed to a hydraulic suspension strut. See Abstract. Hattori is directed to a road surface detection system for an active suspension system. See Abstract.
Claim 63: Reybrouck discloses an active shock absorber system [Fig. 4], comprising: a housing (240, 242) that includes a first volume (240) and a second volume (242); a piston (244) disposed in the housing that, in a first operating condition, is configured to move through at least a portion of a compression stroke and that, in a second operating condition, is configured to move through at least a portion of an extension stroke; a hydraulic device (260, 262, 264) that includes a first port (at 260) that is in fluid communication with the first volume through a first flow path (from 240 to 260) and a second port (at 262) that is in fluid communication with the second volume through a second flow path (from 242 to 262); a hydraulic controls (250, 252) in fluid communication with the first port and second port, wherein the hydraulic controls include a multiplicity of valves (250, 252) configured and located to control flow to and from a pressurized reservoir (256); wherein the first flow path and the second flow path do not pass through the hydraulic controls; and wherein in at least a first mode of operation the active shock absorber system is configured and arranged to allow the hydraulic device to rotate independent of the motion of the piston [see col. 6, lines 1-34]. See Fig. 4.
Reybrouck discloses all the limitations of this claim except for: (1) the hydraulic device being configured to move in two/opposite directions, i.e., being reversible; and (2) the controller being responsive to road conditions.
First, Gibbs discloses an active shock absorber system [Figs. 5, 8-11], with a housing (28) including two volumes (42, 44), a piston (46), a hydraulic device (9), a first flow path (128) and second flow path (124) in communication between ports of the hydraulic device and the two volumes, hydraulic controls (134, 136) that includes a multiplicity of valves controlling flow to a pressurized reservoir (140), the flow paths do not pass through the hydraulic controls, and the hydraulic device can rotate independently of the piston, wherein the hydraulic device is reversible [see para. 0064]. See Figs. 5, 8-11; para. 0064. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the invention to use a reversible hydraulic device in Reybrouck because Reybrouck employs two separate pumps (250, 252) to achieve flow in different directions and using a single reversible pump instead ultimately achieves the same objective. Design considerations for this modification include providing a simpler system by reducing the number of parts.
Second, Hattori discloses the use of a controller (450) configured to control an active shock absorber system (420) to alter a force/velocity response of the active shock absorber system in response to road conditions detected via sensor/monitor unit (100, 200). See Abstract; para. 0023. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the invention to ensure the Reybrouck controller is responsive to road conditions because Reybrouck contemplates the use of “various sensors which are used for generating control signals for selectively controlling the forces generated by the hydraulic actuators” [see col. 3, lines 20-28] and given the variability of surface conditions this feature will provide improved damping and ‘feel’ for a user during driving.
Claim 64: Reybrouck discloses that in at least a second mode of operation the hydraulic device is configured to operate as a pump to drive the piston. See col. 5, line 39 - col. 6, line 47.
Claim 65: Reybrouck discloses that in the at least second mode of operation an apparent inertia of the shock absorber system is reduced compared to the apparent inertia of the first mode of operation. See col. 5, line 39 - col. 6, line 47; Fig. 4.
Claim 66: Reybrouck discloses a first valve (250), wherein in at least a third mode of operation the first valve is positioned and configured to prevent fluid communication with the second volume. See Fig. 4.
Claim 67: Reybrouck discloses a second valve (252), wherein in at least a fourth mode of operation, the second valve is positioned and configured to prevent fluid communication with the first volume. See Fig. 4.
Claim 68: Reybrouck discloses that the shock absorber system is configured to provide unidirectional damping. See col. 5, line 39 - col. 6, line 47; Fig. 4.
Claim 69: Reybrouck discloses a first valve and a second valve, wherein in at least a fifth mode of operation, the first valve and the second valve are positioned and configured to prevent fluid communication with the first volume and second volume, respectively. See Fig. 4.
Claim 70: Reybrouck discloses that during the fifth mode of operation the piston is prevented from moving in either the compression stroke or the extension stroke. See Fig. 4.
Claim 71: Reybrouck discloses that the first volume is a compression volume that is compressed during a compression stroke and the second volume is an extension volume that is compressed during an extension stroke. See Fig. 4.
Claim 72: Reybrouck discloses that in the first mode of operation the hydraulic device moves out of sync with the piston. See col. 5, line 39 - col. 6, line 47; Fig. 4.
Claim 73: Reybrouck discloses that the first valve is configured to selectively control fluid flow between the first volume and the hydraulic controls. See Fig. 4.
Claim 74: Reybrouck discloses that in the first mode of operation hydraulic device rotates at a rate that drives more fluid than the fluid being displaced by movement of the piston. See col. 5, line 39 - col. 6, line 47.
Claim 75: Reybrouck discloses that during at least the first mode of operation, a rotation of the hydraulic device drives more fluid than fluid displaced by the piston. See col. 5, line 39 - col. 6, line 47.
REJECTION #2: Reybrouck in view of Hattori
Claims 63-75 is/are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Reybrouck in view of Hattori.
Claim 63: Reybrouck discloses an active shock absorber system [Fig. 4], comprising: a housing (240, 242) that includes a first volume (240) and a second volume (242); a piston (244) disposed in the housing that, in a first operating condition, is configured to move through at least a portion of a compression stroke and that, in a second operating condition, is configured to move through at least a portion of an extension stroke; a hydraulic device (260, 262, 264) that includes a first port (at 260) that is in fluid communication with the first volume through a first flow path (from 240 to 260) and a second port (at 262) that is in fluid communication with the second volume through a second flow path (from 242 to 262); a hydraulic controls (250, 252) in fluid communication with the first port and second port, wherein the hydraulic controls include a multiplicity of valves (250, 252) configured and located to control flow to and from a pressurized reservoir (256); wherein the first flow path and the second flow path do not pass through the hydraulic controls; and wherein in at least a first mode of operation the active shock absorber system is configured and arranged to allow the hydraulic device to rotate independent of the motion of the piston [see col. 6, lines 1-34]. See Fig. 4.
Reybrouck discloses all the limitations of this claim except for: (1) the hydraulic device being configured to move in two/opposite directions, i.e., being reversible; and (2) the controller being responsive to road conditions.
First, Hattori discloses the use of a “reversible” rotating-type hydraulic device/pump in an active suspension system of a vehicle. See para. 0006. While the discussion of this feature is in reference to other prior art, this disclosure indicates that this feature is known in the specific field of active hydraulic shock absorbers in vehicle suspensions. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the invention to use a reversible hydraulic device in Reybrouck because Reybrouck employs two separate pumps (250, 252) to achieve flow in different directions and using a single reversible pump instead ultimately achieves the same objective. Design considerations for this modification include providing a simpler system by reducing the number of parts.
Second, Hattori discloses the use of a controller (450) configured to control an active shock absorber system (420) to alter a force/velocity response of the active shock absorber system in response to road conditions detected via sensor/monitor unit (100, 200). See Abstract; para. 0023. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the invention to ensure the Reybrouck controller is responsive to road conditions because Reybrouck contemplates the use of “various sensors which are used for generating control signals for selectively controlling the forces generated by the hydraulic actuators” [see col. 3, lines 20-28] and given the variability of surface conditions this feature will provide improved damping and ‘feel’ for a user during driving.
Claim 64: Reybrouck discloses that in at least a second mode of operation the hydraulic device is configured to operate as a pump to drive the piston. See col. 5, line 39 - col. 6, line 47.
Claim 65: Reybrouck discloses that in the at least second mode of operation an apparent inertia of the shock absorber system is reduced compared to the apparent inertia of the first mode of operation. See col. 5, line 39 - col. 6, line 47; Fig. 4.
Claim 66: Reybrouck discloses a first valve (250), wherein in at least a third mode of operation the first valve is positioned and configured to prevent fluid communication with the second volume. See Fig. 4.
Claim 67: Reybrouck discloses a second valve (252), wherein in at least a fourth mode of operation, the second valve is positioned and configured to prevent fluid communication with the first volume. See Fig. 4.
Claim 68: Reybrouck discloses that the shock absorber system is configured to provide unidirectional damping. See col. 5, line 39 - col. 6, line 47; Fig. 4.
Claim 69: Reybrouck discloses a first valve and a second valve, wherein in at least a fifth mode of operation, the first valve and the second valve are positioned and configured to prevent fluid communication with the first volume and second volume, respectively. See Fig. 4.
Claim 70: Reybrouck discloses that during the fifth mode of operation the piston is prevented from moving in either the compression stroke or the extension stroke. See Fig. 4.
Claim 71: Reybrouck discloses that the first volume is a compression volume that is compressed during a compression stroke and the second volume is an extension volume that is compressed during an extension stroke. See Fig. 4.
Claim 72: Reybrouck discloses that in the first mode of operation the hydraulic device moves out of sync with the piston. See col. 5, line 39 - col. 6, line 47; Fig. 4.
Claim 73: Reybrouck discloses that the first valve is configured to selectively control fluid flow between the first volume and the hydraulic controls. See Fig. 4.
Claim 74: Reybrouck discloses that in the first mode of operation hydraulic device rotates at a rate that drives more fluid than the fluid being displaced by movement of the piston. See col. 5, line 39 - col. 6, line 47.
Claim 75: Reybrouck discloses that during at least the first mode of operation, a rotation of the hydraulic device drives more fluid than fluid displaced by the piston. See col. 5, line 39 - col. 6, line 47.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 63-75 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any combination of references applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
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VISHAL SAHNI
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3657
/VISHAL R SAHNI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3657 November 13, 2025