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 .
Response to Amendments
Entry of Amendments
Claim(s) 1, 8, 11, 15 and 18 have been amended.
Claim(s) 2, 10 and 17 have been canceled.
Rejections under 35 USC 102 and 103
Applicant’s amendments filed 12/08/2025 with respect to Claim(s) 1, 3-9, 11-16 and 18-20 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant's arguments with respect to Claim(s) 1, 3-9, 11-16 and 18-20 have been considered but are moot because the arguments do not apply to the reference(s) and/or ground(s) being used in the current rejection.
For further details see the rejections/objections for Claim(s) 1, 3-9, 11-16 and 18-20 herein.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 of this title, 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, 3 and 6-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LIN et al. (US 20180115269; hereinafter LIN) in view of Ryan et al. (US 4689551).
Regarding claim 1, LIN teaches in figure(s) 1-4 a method for detecting early life failure of an electrical connection of a power harness for a steering system of a vehicle (EPS 10; fig. 1; para. 77 - a mechanism for detecting a single point failure of the fault signaling path and responding appropriately e.g., preventing continued operation of the vehicle), the method comprising, using a processor (processor 110, dsp 105; figs. 2,8-9) configured to execute instructions:
obtaining a resistance measurement (para. 25 - corrosion resistance {circumflex over (R)}.sub.corr) associated with an electrical power delivery system (abs. - a power source configured to provide power to the motor over an electrical circuit; para. 27 - power delivery connection) comprising the electrical connection (225 fig. 8; para. 98 - wire break detection rely on a pre-existent or additional auxiliary test current flowing through the circuit to be monitored to detect increases in the circuit resistance, caused by broken or degraded conduction paths);
obtaining historical resistance data (para. 34 - controller may receive N number of data sets representing circuit behavior over a duration of time);
obtaining at least one limit, wherein the at least one limit is obtained based on at least one of the historical resistance data (abs. - store data indicative of a resistance in the circuit; para. 36 - resistance threshold T.sub.2 may be based on a characteristic reference resistance measured within the circuit at a previous time) and a functional limit (para. 36 - threshold may be set to a predetermined amount greater than a baseline resistance);
detecting an early life failure (para. 77 - protect against progressive degradation of the mechanical connections in the battery pack which may lead to multipoint failure of the harness, so host 105 must have a mechanism for detecting a single point failure of the fault signaling path) of the electrical connection based on a comparison between the resistance measurement and the at least one limit (abs. - controller is also programmed to issue a resistance state of health signal in response to the resistance in the circuit exceeding a predetermined resistance threshold); and
performing at least one action in response to detecting the early life failure (clm. 13 - asserting a break signal when detecting a break in one of said data conductors by use of a break detector coupled to both said data conductors).
LIN does not teach explicitly to perform steps comprising: prior to installing the power harness in the vehicle obtaining a resistance measurement.
However, Ryan teaches in figure(s) 1-5 to perform steps comprising: prior to installing the power harness in the vehicle obtaining a resistance measurement (abs. - Apparatus for testing wiring harnesses either during or after the harness fabrication process; col. 7 lines 1-10, col. 3 lines 57-62 :- test for the amount of resistance in a circuit… a resistance 64 which is provided between terminal points 66 and 68; figs. 1,5).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of LIN by having to perform steps comprising: prior to installing the power harness in the vehicle obtaining a resistance measurement as taught by Ryan in order to provide combining prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results of improving cost and efficiency as evidenced by "Although such testing of harnesses involves an additional operation or operations, and hence is an addition to the piece cost, it can in the long run be cheaper than the substantial costs which will typically be required to repair improperly fabricated harnesses after they have been installed in vehicles" (col. 1 lines 25-60 of Ryan) and “resistance threshold T.sub.2 may be based on a characteristic reference resistance measured within the circuit at a previous time” (para. 36 of LIN).
Regarding claim 3, LIN teaches in figure(s) 1-4 the method of claim 1, wherein the at least one limit is an upper limit (para. 4 - indexing a fault counter in response to the resistance being greater than a predetermined resistance threshold).
Regarding claim 6, LIN teaches in figure(s) 1-4 the method of claim 1, wherein the steering system is an electronic power steering (EPS) system (para. 28 - algorithm for collecting data used to estimate {circumflex over (R)}.sub.corr for a motor-driven EPS system) and the electrical connection is an electrical connection between a power supply and a motor of the EPS system (para. 31 - acquiring signals for each of EPS motor current I.sub.M, EPS monitored voltage V.sub.C, power supply voltage V.sub.B, motor output torque T, and steering wheel angle gradient {dot over (θ)}.sub.STG).
Regarding claim 7, LIN teaches in figure(s) 1-4 the method of claim 1, wherein performing the at least one action includes at least one of: generating and displaying an indicator in response to detecting the early life failure (para. 39 - message may be generated by an external processor portion of the controller and sent back to the vehicle controller and/or any combination of a user's mobile device, a user's computer, a vehicle service sever, a service tool, or other external processors. Generally, the prognosis systems and methods provide detection and warning prior to a loss of part function); and controlling at least one operating parameter of the vehicle in response to detecting the early life failure.
Claim(s) 8-9, 11-16 and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LIN et al. (US 20180115269; hereinafter LIN) in view of WANG et al. (US 20160025789).
Regarding claim 8, LIN teaches in figure(s) 1-4 a method for detecting early life failure of an electrical connection of a power harness for a steering system of a vehicle (para. 77 - a mechanism for detecting a single point failure of the fault signaling path and responding appropriately e.g., preventing continued operation of the vehicle), the method comprising, using a processor (processor 110, dsp 105; figs. 2,8-9) configured to execute instructions:
obtaining, subsequent to installation of the power harness in the vehicle (para. 2 - systems, such as vehicles include many wires, connectors, terminals, electrical harnesses that provide a power path for various systems, sub-systems), a first resistance measurement (para. 25 - corrosion resistance {circumflex over (R)}.sub.corr) associated with the electrical connection (225 fig. 8; para. 98 - wire break detection rely on a pre-existent or additional auxiliary test current flowing through the circuit to be monitored to detect increases in the circuit resistance, caused by broken or degraded conduction paths);
obtaining, subsequent to the first resistance measurement, a second resistance measurement associated with the electrical connection (para. 34 - controller may receive N number of data sets representing circuit behavior over a duration of time; abs. - store data indicative of a resistance in the circuit), wherein obtaining the second resistance measurement includes obtaining a first average of a first plurality of resistance measurements in a first period subsequent to obtaining the first resistance measurement (para. 35 - controller may compute an average corrosion resistance value R.sub.corr for all N sets of data received at the controller).
detecting an early life failure (para. 77 - protect against progressive degradation of the mechanical connections in the battery pack which may lead to multipoint failure of the harness, so host 105 must have a mechanism for detecting a single point failure of the fault signaling path) of the electrical connection based on at least one of (i) a comparison between the first resistance measurement and a first resistance threshold and (ii) a comparison between the second resistance measurement and a second resistance threshold (abs. - controller is also programmed to issue a resistance state of health signal in response to the resistance in the circuit exceeding a predetermined resistance threshold); and
performing at least one action in response to detecting the early life failure (clm. 13 - asserting a break signal when detecting a break in one of said data conductors by use of a break detector coupled to both said data conductors).
LIN does not teach explicitly detecting an early life failure of the electrical connection based on (i) a comparison between the first resistance measurement and a first resistance threshold and (ii) a comparison between the second resistance measurement and a second resistance threshold;
However, WANG teaches in figure(s) 1-6 detecting an early life failure (para. 20 - harness resistance may increase due to environmental factors such as vibration, humidity, rusting, solder failures, etc. The increase in harness resistance may have a negative impact on the battery pack 114. For example, it may harm the vehicle's E-mileage and lower fuel economy) of the electrical connection based on (i) a comparison between the first resistance measurement and a first resistance threshold (para. 43 - average of the historical values may be taken and then compared to the estimated serial resistance) and (ii) a comparison between the second resistance measurement and a second resistance threshold (para. 43 - Additionally or alternatively, the highest historical value for r.sub.1 may be compared to the estimated serial resistance {circumflex over (r)}.sub.1. The difference between the historical value(s) of r.sub.1 and the estimated serial resistance {circumflex over (r)}.sub.1 may then be compared to a predefined increase value.);
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of LIN by having detecting an early life failure of the electrical connection based on (i) a comparison between the first resistance measurement and a first resistance threshold and (ii) a comparison between the second resistance measurement and a second resistance threshold as taught by WANG in order to provide combining prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results of continued anomaly monitoring and power limit management as evidenced by "controller programmed to generate harness anomaly output based on data indicative of historical resistances associated with the harness and temperature and state of charge data for the battery indicative of a current resistance associated with the harness … During operation and over time, anomalies with the wiring harness may result in an increased harness resistance. It is desirable to know a resistance associated with a wire harness at a given time… indicative of a current resistance associated with the harness… reducing a power limit for the battery" (abstract, paras. 2-6).
Regarding claim 15, LIN teaches in figure(s) 1-4 a system for detecting early life failure of an electrical connection of a power harness for a steering system of a vehicle (EPS 10; fig. 1; para. 77 - a mechanism for detecting a single point failure of the fault signaling path and responding appropriately e.g., preventing continued operation of the vehicle), the system comprising;
at least one sensor (sensor 20; fig. 1) configured to resistance measurements associated with the electrical connection (16; para. 14 - an electrical connection between a component 12 and a power source 14); and
a controller (18,318) configured to
obtain, subsequent to installation of the power harness in the vehicle (para. 2 - systems, such as vehicles include many wires, connectors, terminals, electrical harnesses that provide a power path for various systems, sub-systems), a first resistance measurement (para. 25 - corrosion resistance {circumflex over (R)}.sub.corr) associated with the electrical connection (225 fig. 8; para. 98 - wire break detection rely on a pre-existent or additional auxiliary test current flowing through the circuit to be monitored to detect increases in the circuit resistance, caused by broken or degraded conduction paths),
obtain, subsequent to the first resistance measurement, a second resistance measurement associated with the electrical connection (para. 34 - controller may receive N number of data sets representing circuit behavior over a duration of time; abs. - store data indicative of a resistance in the circuit), wherein obtaining the second resistance measurement includes obtaining a first average of a first plurality of resistance measurements in a first period subsequent to obtaining the first resistance measurement (para. 35 - controller may compute an average corrosion resistance value R.sub.corr for all N sets of data received at the controller).
detect an early life failure (para. 77 - protect against progressive degradation of the mechanical connections in the battery pack which may lead to multipoint failure of the harness, so host 105 must have a mechanism for detecting a single point failure of the fault signaling path) of the electrical connection based on at least one of (i) a comparison between the first resistance measurement and a first resistance threshold and (ii) a comparison between the second resistance measurement and a second resistance threshold (abs. - controller is also programmed to issue a resistance state of health signal in response to the resistance in the circuit exceeding a predetermined resistance threshold), and
perform at least one action in response to detecting the early life failure (clm. 13 - asserting a break signal when detecting a break in one of said data conductors by use of a break detector coupled to both said data conductors).
LIN does not teach explicitly detecting an early life failure of the electrical connection based on (i) a comparison between the first resistance measurement and a first resistance threshold and (ii) a comparison between the second resistance measurement and a second resistance threshold;
However, WANG teaches in figure(s) 1-6 detecting an early life failure (para. 20 - harness resistance may increase due to environmental factors such as vibration, humidity, rusting, solder failures, etc. The increase in harness resistance may have a negative impact on the battery pack 114. For example, it may harm the vehicle's E-mileage and lower fuel economy) of the electrical connection based on (i) a comparison between the first resistance measurement and a first resistance threshold (para. 43 - average of the historical values may be taken and then compared to the estimated serial resistance) and (ii) a comparison between the second resistance measurement and a second resistance threshold (para. 43 - Additionally or alternatively, the highest historical value for r.sub.1 may be compared to the estimated serial resistance {circumflex over (r)}.sub.1. The difference between the historical value(s) of r.sub.1 and the estimated serial resistance {circumflex over (r)}.sub.1 may then be compared to a predefined increase value.);
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of LIN by having detecting an early life failure of the electrical connection based on (i) a comparison between the first resistance measurement and a first resistance threshold and (ii) a comparison between the second resistance measurement and a second resistance threshold as taught by WANG in order to provide combining prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results of continued anomaly monitoring and power limit management as evidenced by "controller programmed to generate harness anomaly output based on data indicative of historical resistances associated with the harness and temperature and state of charge data for the battery indicative of a current resistance associated with the harness … During operation and over time, anomalies with the wiring harness may result in an increased harness resistance. It is desirable to know a resistance associated with a wire harness at a given time… indicative of a current resistance associated with the harness… reducing a power limit for the battery" (abstract, paras. 2-6).
Regarding claim(s) 9 and 16, LIN teaches in figure(s) 1-4 the method of claim 8 and the system of claim 15, respectively, wherein obtaining the second resistance measurement includes obtaining the second resistance measurement a predetermined period or a predetermined number of measurement samples subsequent to obtaining the first resistance measurement (clm. 8 - indexing a fault counter in response to the resistance value being greater than a predetermined resistance threshold).
Regarding claim 11, LIN teaches in figure(s) 1-4 the method of claim 9, further comprising:
obtaining, subsequent to the second resistance measurement, a third resistance measurement associated with the electrical connection (para. 34 - controller may receive N number of data sets representing circuit behavior over a duration of time; abs. - store data indicative of a resistance in the circuit), wherein obtaining the third resistance measurement includes obtaining a second average of a second plurality of resistance measurements in a second period subsequent to the first period (para. 35 - controller may compute an average corrosion resistance value R.sub.corr for all N sets of data received at the controller); and
detecting the early life failure of the electrical connection further based on a comparison between the third resistance measurement and a third resistance threshold (para. 36 - threshold may be set to a predetermined amount greater than a baseline resistance value. In another example, a rolling average may be applied to account for some degree of gradual adjustment in resistance, but trigger a fault in response to an abrupt change).
Regarding claim 13, LIN teaches in figure(s) 1-4 the method of claim 11, wherein the second period does not overlap with the first period (para. 42 - C.sub.0 counter relates to the number of times a normal resistance level is detected following a previous flag condition).
Regarding claim 14, LIN teaches in figure(s) 1-4 the method of claim 11, further comprising: obtaining, subsequent to the third resistance measurement, a fourth resistance measurement associated with the electrical connection, wherein the fourth resistance measurement corresponds to a predetermined measurement sample number subsequent to the first resistance measurement; and detecting the early life failure of the electrical connection further based on a comparison between the fourth resistance measurement and a fourth resistance threshold (para. 26 - multiple thresholds may be stored where each corresponds to a different resistance fault condition; para. 37 - fault condition counts are accumulated, a certain threshold number of fault counts may correspond to a more severe resistance fault condition).
Regarding claim 18, LIN teaches in figure(s) 1-4 the system of claim 16, wherein the controller is further configured to:
obtain, subsequent to the second resistance measurement, a third resistance measurement associated with the electrical connection (para. 34 - controller may receive N number of data sets representing circuit behavior over a duration of time; abs. - store data indicative of a resistance in the circuit), wherein obtaining the third resistance measurement includes obtaining a second average of a second plurality of resistance measurements in a second period subsequent to the first period (para. 35 - controller may compute an average corrosion resistance value R.sub.corr for all N sets of data received at the controller); and
detect the early life failure of the electrical connection further based on a comparison between the third resistance measurement and a third resistance threshold (para. 36 - threshold may be set to a predetermined amount greater than a baseline resistance value. In another example, a rolling average may be applied to account for some degree of gradual adjustment in resistance, but trigger a fault in response to an abrupt change).
Regarding claim 12 and 19, LIN teaches in figure(s) 1-4 the method of claim 11 and the system of claim 18, respectively, wherein the second period at least one of includes and overlaps with the first period (para. 34 - If multiple sets of data are available since the last acquisition, the controller may receive N number of data sets representing circuit behavior over a duration of time).
Regarding claim 20, LIN teaches in figure(s) 1-4 the system of claim 18, wherein the controller is further configured to:
obtain, subsequent to the third resistance measurement, a fourth resistance measurement associated with the electrical connection, wherein the fourth resistance measurement corresponds to a predetermined measurement sample number subsequent to the first resistance measurement; and
detect the early life failure of the electrical connection further based on a comparison between the fourth resistance measurement and a fourth resistance threshold (para. 26 - multiple thresholds may be stored where each corresponds to a different resistance fault condition; para. 37 - fault condition counts are accumulated, a certain threshold number of fault counts may correspond to a more severe resistance fault condition).
Claim(s) 4-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LIN in view of Ryan, and further in view of Martin et al. (US 20130293251).
Regarding claim 4, LIN in view of Ryan teaches the method of claim 1,
LIN does not teach explicitly further comprising obtaining the resistance by supplying a sinusoidal current to a motor of the steering system, measuring a response of the motor, and calculating the resistance based on the sinusoidal current and the measured response.
However, Martin teaches in figure(s) 1-20 further comprising obtaining the resistance by supplying a sinusoidal current (para. 88 - a sine wave of current (or potential) which exhibits one complete period of spatial oscillation around the complete circuit of the transmission line) to a motor of the steering system, measuring a response of the motor (para. 38 - specific context of an application including an electrical motor, such as those used for propulsion in an electric vehicle (EV)), and calculating the resistance based on the sinusoidal current and the measured response (para. 98 - detect increases in the circuit resistance, caused by broken or degraded conduction paths).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of LIN by having further comprising obtaining the resistance by supplying a sinusoidal current to a motor of the steering system, measuring a response of the motor, and calculating the resistance based on the sinusoidal current and the measured response as taught by Martin in order to provide some teaching, suggestion, or motivation in the prior art that would have led one of ordinary skill to modify the prior art reference or to combine prior art reference teachings to arrive at the claimed invention as evidenced by "A redundant power system, including a host having a power supply providing a voltage to a first location and a noise-isolating impedance coupling the first location to a second location… client secondarily receiving the operating current through the impedance when the electrical communication from the first location to the client is impaired; and a break detector coupled to the single conductor loop asserting a break signal when the electrical communication from the first location to the client is impaired” (para. 11).
Regarding claim 5, LIN in view of Martin teaches the method of claim 4,
Martin additionally teaches in figure(s) 1-20 wherein the sinusoidal current is a non-torque producing current (clm. 2 - a test current flowing in said break detection loop wherein said break detector detects interruption of said test current due to a break in one of said data conductors).
Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
See the List of References cited in the US PT0-892.
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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AKM ZAKARIA whose telephone number is (571)270-0664. The examiner can normally be reached on 8-5 PM (PST).
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, JUDY NGUYEN can be reached on 571-272-2258. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/AKM ZAKARIA/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2858