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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 02-13-2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d).
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: “HANDWHEEL ACTUATOR WITH STATOR AND CONTROL CIRCUIT FOR HANDWEEL IS ROTATED AT 180 DEGREED”
Claim Objections
Claims 8,12,16,17 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Re-claim 8, recites “M470-50A” “DIN EN 10106:2016-03”. Please clarify what acronyms or standards stand for.
Re-claim 12 recites “ASTM standard A927/A927M-11.”. Please clarify what acronyms or standards stand for.
Re-claim 16 and claim 17, both use the word “substantially” resistance. The word “substantially” would be better replaced with “substantial”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 2 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 2, recites “a drag torque” as first recitation, which is confusing if it is already recites “drag torque” in claim 1. Clarification is needed.
Regarding claim 18, recites “a rotor and a stator” as first recitation, which is confusing if it is already recited “rotor and stator” in claim 1. Clarification is needed.
Claims 2,4,5,6 are rejected based on dependency from claim 2.
Inventorship
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a), the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned at the time any inventions covered therein were made absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and invention dates of each claim that was not commonly owned at the time a later invention was made in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(c) and potential pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(e), (f) or (g) prior art under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 1-18 allowed.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Re-claim 1, recites “inter alia” 1. A handwheel actuator assembly for a steer by wire system of a vehicle comprising:
a housing;
a shaft rotatably mounted with respect to the housing, the shaft connectable to a handwheel;
one or more motors each having a stator and a rotor, the stator carrying a plurality of phase windings and the rotor carrying a plurality of magnet poles and being connected to the shaft; and
a control circuit adapted to control the current flowing into or out of the, or each motor to cause a net torque to be applied to the shaft during normal operation,
wherein the stator of at least one of the motors is configured such that in an event that the control circuit is powered down or disconnected and the handwheel is rotated at 180 degrees per second, a combination of motors overall provides a drag torque of at least 50 percent of the resistance to rotation of the shaft and a torque at the handwheel of at least 2 Nm.”
The prior art of record, ip.com search, ai similarity search and global dossier search fail to teach or suggest alone or combined the combination of limitation of claim 1 specially the specific limitations where “a control circuit adapted to control the current flowing into or out of the, or each motor to cause a net torque to be applied to the shaft during normal operation,
wherein the stator of at least one of the motors is configured such that in an event that the control circuit is powered down or disconnected and the handwheel is rotated at 180 degrees per second, a combination of motors overall provides a drag torque of at least 50 percent of the resistance to rotation of the shaft and a torque at the handwheel of at least 2 Nm.”
The prior art of record closest to claim 1 Erickson (US 12122449), teach steer by wire system and redundant structure with stator and controller, but fail to teach the specific limitation above. Another close prior art that is close to the claim 1 is Shin (US 20190092377) or US10800443 (Klein) both teaches a steer by wire system with stator, but fail to teach “a control circuit adapted to control the current flowing into or out of the, or each motor to cause a net torque to be applied to the shaft during normal operation, wherein the stator of at least one of the motors is configured such that in an event that the control circuit is powered down or disconnected and the handwheel is rotated at 180 degrees per second, a combination of motors overall provides a drag torque of at least 50 percent of the resistance to rotation of the shaft and a torque at the handwheel of at least 2 Nm.”
Claims 1-18 will be allowed based on dependency from claim 1, after fixing 112 issues indicated above.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure in PTO892.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MAGED M ALMAWRI whose telephone number is (313)446-6565. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Thursday.
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/MAGED M ALMAWRI/ Primary Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2834