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 .
Status of Claims
This action is in reply to the communication filed on . The disposition of claims is as follows:
Pending:
Rejected:
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, 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.
Claims are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over (US 2003/0200016), hereinafter “” in view of (US 2012/0029779), hereinafter “”.
Regarding Claim ,
disclose:
A vehicle, comprising:
a drivetrain (see at least 16; Fig 1 and associated description);
a suspension (); and
an in-vehicle control system configured to:
define a trailer mode and a non-trailer mode for one or more drive modes of a plurality of drive modes, each drive mode having a set of attributes for at least one of the drivetrain or the suspension; (See at least: ¶¶; “Towing is, however, selectable with all terrain selections.”; “terrain selection input allows the selection of standard, grass/gravel/snow, mud/ruts, sand, and rocks driving modes as in the second embodiment. When the “mode of use” input is set to normal the operating modes of the vehicle correspond to the driving modes in the second embodiment. If the mode-of-use input is turned to towing mode, then each of the terrain modes selected is modified to make the vehicle more effective at towing. For example, the suspension ride height is locked, or changes in height restricted, so as to avoid tilting the trailer, and the throttle map and gear change map are modified so as to provide a high level of torque when pulling away from rest.”)
receive selection of a selected drive mode of the plurality of drive modes; (See at least: ¶¶); (See at least Fig. 13 and corresponding description)
fail to explicitly disclose:
detect a trailer connected to the vehicle; and in response to detecting the trailer connected to the vehicle, configure the at least one of the drivetrain or the suspension according to the trailer mode of the selected drive mode.
discloses:
a prior art upon which the claimed invention can be seen as an improvement.
teach:
a prior art utilizing a known technique applicable to the of Namely, the technique of detecting a trailer connected to the vehicle and in response to detecting the trailer connected to the vehicle, configure the at least one of the drivetrain or the suspension according to the trailer mode of the selected drive mode in order to increase traction in accordance with the vehicle load and terrain. See at least ¶¶.
Therefore, a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized that applying the known technique taught by to the of would have yielded predicable results and resulted in an improved . Namely, a that would in to increase traction in accordance with the vehicle load and terrain. See at least ¶¶; MPEP § 2143(I)(D).
Regarding Claim ,
disclose:
wherein the in-vehicle control system is further configured to:
detect that no trailer is connected to the vehicle; and in response to detecting that no trailer is connected to the vehicle, configure the at least one of the drivetrain or the suspension according to a non-trailer mode of the selected drive mode, the set of attributes for the non-trailer mode being different than for the trailer mode. (: See at least: ¶¶; “Towing is, however, selectable with all terrain selections.”; “terrain selection input allows the selection of standard, grass/gravel/snow, mud/ruts, sand, and rocks driving modes as in the second embodiment. When the “mode of use” input is set to normal the operating modes of the vehicle correspond to the driving modes in the second embodiment. If the mode-of-use input is turned to towing mode, then each of the terrain modes selected is modified to make the vehicle more effective at towing. For example, the suspension ride height is locked, or changes in height restricted, so as to avoid tilting the trailer, and the throttle map and gear change map are modified so as to provide a high level of torque when pulling away from rest.”)
Regarding Claim ,
disclose:
wherein the in-vehicle control system is further configured to: define a plurality of drive mode categories each having a portion of the plurality of drive modes associated therewith; receive a selection of a selected drive mode category of the plurality of drive mode categories and the selection of the selected drive mode from the portion of the plurality of drive modes associated with the selected drive mode category; and configure the at least one of the drivetrain or the suspension according to the selected drive mode. (: See at least: ¶¶0089, ); (: See at least Fig. 13 and corresponding description)
Regarding Claim ,
disclose:
wherein the plurality of drive mode categories include an on-road category and an off-road category. (: See at least: ¶¶0089-0090, ; “four off-road modes, namely a grass mode, a sand mode, a boulder or rock crawl mode and a mud mode”); (: See at least Fig. 13 and corresponding description)
Regarding Claim ,
disclose:
wherein the plurality of drive modes of the on-road category include two or more of an energy-saving mode, an all-purpose driving mode, a sport driving mode, or a snow and ice driving mode. (: See at least: ¶¶0089-0090, ; “three on-road modes, namely a motorway mode, a country road mode and a city driving mod”; “can include vehicle modes relating to the manner in which the vehicle is to respond to the driver's inputs, such as a sport mode or an economy mode”); (: See at least Fig. 13 and corresponding description)
Regarding Claim ,
disclose:
wherein the plurality of drive modes of the off-road category include two or more of a rock crawl mode, a rally mode, a drift mode, or a soft sand mode. (: See at least: ¶¶0090-0110, )
Regarding Claim ,
disclose:
wherein a number of the plurality of drive modes of a first category of the plurality of drive mode categories are different from a number of the plurality of drive modes of a second category of the plurality of drive mode categories. (: See at least: ¶¶0089, ); (: See at least Fig. 13 and corresponding description)
Regarding Claim ,
disclose:
wherein representations of the plurality of drive modes of a first category of the plurality of drive mode categories are different from a number of the plurality of drive modes of a second category of the plurality of drive mode categories. (: See at least: ¶¶0089, ); (: See at least Fig. 13 and corresponding description)
Regarding Claim ,
disclose:
wherein the set of attributes includes at least one of ride height, suspension stiffness, or suspension damping. (: See at least: ¶¶0113, 0116)
Regarding Claim ,
disclose:
wherein the set of attributes includes parameters controlling at least one of traction control or stability control. (: See at least: ¶¶0090-0100, )
Regarding Claim ,
disclose:
wherein the set of attributes includes an accelerator pedal response. (: See at least: ¶¶0091-0095, 0102-0105, 0107-0111)
Regarding Claim ,
disclose:
wherein the set of attributes includes at least one of a brake pedal response or a regenerative braking behavior. (: See at least: ¶¶0091-0093, 0095-0096, 0101-0102)
Regarding Claim ,
disclose:
A non-transitory computer readable medium storing executable code that, when executed by one or more processing devices, (See at least: ¶¶) causes the one or more processing devices to:
define a plurality of drive modes, each drive mode of the plurality of drive modes having a set of attributes for at least one of a drivetrain or a suspension of a vehicle; (See at least: ¶¶; “terrain selection input allows the selection of standard, grass/gravel/snow, mud/ruts, sand, and rocks driving modes
define a trailer mode and a non-trailer mode for one or more drive modes of the plurality of drive modes; (See at least: ¶¶; “Towing is, however, selectable with all terrain selections.”; “terrain selection input allows the selection of standard, grass/gravel/snow, mud/ruts, sand, and rocks driving modes as in the second embodiment. When the “mode of use” input is set to normal the operating modes of the vehicle correspond to the driving modes in the second embodiment. If the mode-of-use input is turned to towing mode, then each of the terrain modes selected is modified to make the vehicle more effective at towing. For example, the suspension ride height is locked, or changes in height restricted, so as to avoid tilting the trailer, and the throttle map and gear change map are modified so as to provide a high level of torque when pulling away from rest.”)
display, on a display device of a vehicle, an interface including interface elements enabling selection, by a user, among the plurality of drive modes; (See at least: ¶¶)
receive, from a user via the interface, selection of a selected drive mode of the plurality of drive modes; (See at least: ¶¶0089, ); (See at least Fig. 13 and corresponding description)
fail to explicitly disclose:
determine that a trailer is connected to the vehicle; and based on determining that the trailer is connected to the vehicle, configure the at least one of the drivetrain or the suspension according to the trailer mode of the selected drive mode.
discloses:
a prior art upon which the claimed invention can be seen as an improvement.
teach:
a prior art utilizing a known technique applicable to the of Namely, the technique of determining that a trailer is connected to the vehicle; and based on determining that the trailer is connected to the vehicle, configure the at least one of the drivetrain or the suspension according to the trailer mode of the selected drive mode in order to increase traction in accordance with the vehicle load and terrain. See at least ¶¶.
Therefore, a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized that applying the known technique taught by to the of would have yielded predicable results and resulted in an improved . Namely, a that would determine that a trailer is connected to the vehicle; and based on determining that the trailer is connected to the vehicle, configure the at least one of the drivetrain or the suspension according to the trailer mode of the selected drive mode in to increase traction in accordance with the vehicle load and terrain. See at least ¶¶; MPEP § 2143(I)(D).
Regarding Claim ,
disclose:
wherein the executable code further causes the one or more processing devices to:
based on determining that no trailer is connected to the vehicle, configure the at least one of the drivetrain or the suspension according to the non-trailer mode of the selected drive mode, the set of attributes for the non-trailer mode being different than for the trailer mode. (: See at least: ¶¶; “Towing is, however, selectable with all terrain selections.”; “terrain selection input allows the selection of standard, grass/gravel/snow, mud/ruts, sand, and rocks driving modes as in the second embodiment. When the “mode of use” input is set to normal the operating modes of the vehicle correspond to the driving modes in the second embodiment. If the mode-of-use input is turned to towing mode, then each of the terrain modes selected is modified to make the vehicle more effective at towing. For example, the suspension ride height is locked, or changes in height restricted, so as to avoid tilting the trailer, and the throttle map and gear change map are modified so as to provide a high level of torque when pulling away from rest.”)
Regarding Claim ,
disclose:
wherein the executable code further causes the one or more processing devices to:
define a plurality of drive mode categories, each drive mode category of the plurality of drive mode categories having a portion of the plurality of drive modes associated therewith; and (: See at least: ¶¶0089, ); (: See at least Fig. 13 and corresponding description)
receive, from a user via the interface, selection of a selected drive mode category of the plurality of drive mode categories and selection of the selected drive mode from the portion of the plurality of drive modes associated with the selected drive mode. (: See at least: ¶¶0089, ); (: See at least Fig. 13 and corresponding description)
Regarding Claim ,
disclose:
wherein the plurality of drive mode categories include an on-road category and an off-road category. (: See at least: ¶¶0089-0090, ; “four off-road modes, namely a grass mode, a sand mode, a boulder or rock crawl mode and a mud mode”); (: See at least Fig. 13 and corresponding description)
Regarding Claim ,
disclose:
wherein the plurality of drive modes of the on-road category include two or more of an energy-saving mode, an all-purpose driving mode, a sport driving mode, and a snow and ice driving mode. (: See at least: ¶¶0089-0090, ; “three on-road modes, namely a motorway mode, a country road mode and a city driving mod”; “can include vehicle modes relating to the manner in which the vehicle is to respond to the driver's inputs, such as a sport mode or an economy mode”); (: See at least Fig. 13 and corresponding description)
Regarding Claim ,
disclose:
wherein the plurality of drive modes of the off-road category include two or more of a rock crawl mode, a rally mode, a drift mode, or a soft sand mode. (: See at least: ¶¶0090-0110, )
Regarding Claim ,
disclose:
wherein the set of attributes includes any two or more of ride height, suspension stiffness, or suspension damping. (: See at least: ¶¶0113, 0116)
Regarding Claim ,
disclose:
wherein the set of attributes includes any two of traction control, stability control, or accelerator pedal response. (: See at least: ¶¶0090-0100, )
Special Definitions for Claim Language - MPEP § 2111.01(III)-(IV)
No special definitions are seen as present in the specification regarding the language used in the claims. Consequently, the words and phrases of the claims are given the plain meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art. (See MPEP §§ 2173.01, 2173.05(a), and 2111.01).
If special definitions are present, Applicant should bring them to the attention of the Examiner and the prosecution history in the next response.
To date, Applicant has provided no indication of special definitions.
References Cited
R1: ()
R2: ()
Examiner Interviews
Regular Examiner Interview Requests:
Pursuant to USPTO Guidance, one Examiner interview per round of prosecution is available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant may call Examiner Reinbold directly at 313-446-6607 (preferred) or use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Logan Kraft, can be reached on 571-270-5065. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Additional Examiner Interview Requests:
If Applicant needs more than one Examiner interview during a single round of prosecution, applicant may request approval for additional examiner interview(s) from Examiner Reinbold’s Supervisory Patent Examiner (SPE), Logan Kraft, who can be reached at 571-270-5065.
Conclusion
The examiner has pointed out particular references contained in the prior art of record in the body of this action for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. Applicant should consider the entirety of identified prior art references as applicable as to the limitations of the claims. It is noted that any citations to specific pages, paragraph numbers, columns, lines, or figures in the prior art references presented and any interpretation of the reference should not be considered to be limiting in any way. A reference is relevant for all it contains and may be relied upon for all that it would have reasonably suggested to one having ordinary skill in the art. See MPEP § 2123. It is respectfully requested from the applicant, in preparing the response, to consider fully the entire references as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the examiner.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SCOTT A REINBOLD whose telephone number is (313)446-6607. The examiner can normally be reached on MON - FRI: 8AM - 5PM EST.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Logan Kraft, can be reached on (571)270-5065. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://portal.uspto.gov/external/portal. Should you have questions about access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free).
/SCOTT A REINBOLD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3747