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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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 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.
Claim(s) 1-7,9 and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ellis (US 8327699). Regarding claim 1, Ellis discloses a steering control device configured to control a steering device including a steering shaft/column (104) to which a handle (250) that is detachably coupled and a motor (242) configured to generate torque that is given to the steering shaft (see Col. 2, lines 65-67), the steering control device comprising a processing circuit (200,202) configured to execute a process for controlling driving of the motor, the process for controlling the driving of the motor including a lock process of driving the motor such that a rotation position of the steering shaft is fixed at a specific position (centering it, see Col. 4, lines 25-35; Col. 5, lines 1-6 and Col. 5, lines 47-51), in a state where the handle has been detached from the steering shaft (see figures 3-6).
Regarding claim 2, wherein the processing circuit is configured to start execution of the lock process when a command from an external tool has been received (see abstract as it states “The method includes temporarily locking the steering rack in place and subsequently installing a steering wheel to a steering column after the locating step. The method further includes operatively communicating with an on-board processor or ECU of the automotive vehicle and running a program to determine or locate the center of the rack”).
Regarding claim 3, wherein the specific position is a middle-point position of the steering shaft that corresponds to a straight moving state of a vehicle (see Col 1, lines 6-12).
Regarding claim 4, wherein the processing circuit is configured to set a motor middle-point as a target rotation angle of the motor, and drive the motor such that a difference between the target rotation angle and an actual rotation angle of the motor is eliminated, as the lock process, the motor middle-point being a rotation position of the motor that corresponds to the straight moving state of the vehicle (see Col. 4, lines 25-56 and Col. 5, lines 47-50).
Regarding claim 5, wherein: the steering device includes a rudder angle sensor (see Col. 2, lines 8-10) configured to detect a steering angle of the handle (through the steering rack); and the processing circuit is configured to set a middle point of the steering angle that corresponds to the straight moving state of the vehicle, as a target rotation angle of the steering angle, and drive the motor such that a difference between the target rotation angle and the steering angle that is detected through the rudder angle sensor is eliminated, as the lock process (see Col. 5, lines 47-51).
Regarding claim 6, wherein the specific position is a rotation position of the steering shaft when the handle has been detached (see Col. 4, lines 31-56).
Regarding claim 7, wherein: the steering device includes a turning shaft (steering rack) that turns a turning wheel (246,248) of a vehicle; and the specific position is a rotation position of the steering shaft that corresponds to an end position that is a limit position in a physically movable range of the turning shaft (see Col. 3, lines 1-14).
Regarding claim 9, wherein: the steering device is an electric power steering device (as it turns the steering system to center it) in which the handle (250) and a turning wheel (246,248) of a vehicle are coupled to each other such that dynamic power is transmitted between the handle and the turning wheel of the vehicle; and the motor (242) is an assist motor configured to generate assist force by which steering of the handle is assisted.
Regarding claim 10, Ellis discloses a steering control method for controlling a steering device, the steering device including a steering shaft/column (104) to which a handle (250) is detachably coupled and a motor (242) configured to generate torque that is given to the steering shaft, the steering control method comprising driving the motor such that a rotation position of the steering shaft is fixed at a specific position by a processing circuit (centering it, see Col. 4, lines 25-35; Col. 5, lines 1-6 and Col. 5, lines 47-51), in a state where the handle has been detached from the steering shaft (see figures 3-6).
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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, 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) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ellis in view of Kakimoto (US 2021/0394825). Ellis does not show a steer-by-wire system, however, Kakimoto discloses a steer-by-wire system (see figure 1 and Par. 0003) with a reaction motor (22). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Ellis by having the steering control device work on systems such as the steer-by-wire system of Kakimoto in order to be able to utilize a centering system that is able to work on systems with a steering column and systems that steer-by-wire; wherein the combination of Ellis in Kakimoto can be seen as the use of a known technique to improve similar devices (methods, or products) in the same way.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Marlon A Arce whose telephone number is (571)272-1341. The examiner can normally be reached 8AM - 4:30PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Valentin Neacsu can be reached at 571-272-6265. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MARLON A ARCE/Examiner, Art Unit 3611 /VALENTIN NEACSU/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3611