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 .
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.
Response to Amendment
This FINAL action is in response to amendment filed on 06/30/2026.
Claim(s) 1-3, 5-7, 9-14, 16, 18 is/are amended.
Claim(s) 4, 8, 15, 17 is/are previously presented.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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) 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over DE 102021100817 A1 PERTZBORN TILL (hereinafter Pertzborn), in view of EP 2783926 A1 AYACHE DAVID (hereinafter Ayache), further in view of US 20200198587 A1 Du, Xinyu, et al. (hereinafter Du).
Regarding claim 1, Pertzborn discloses: A windshield wiper system for a vehicle (see Pertzborn at least [pg. 1, para. 1, beginning with “The invention relates”] a windshield wiper system for vehicles) comprising:
a windshield wiper (10) comprising at least a wiper arm (12) (see Pertzborn at least [pg. 2, para. 9, beginning with “According to a first”] a windshield wiper system for vehicles is provided, comprising a windshield wiper element),
a wiper blade (14) (see Pertzborn at least [pg. 2, para. 9, beginning with “According to a first”] a wiper blade), and
a washing nozzle (18) (see Pertzborn at least [pg. 2, para. 9, beginning with “According to a first”] a plurality Nozzles that are arranged on the windshield wiper element), and
an electronic controller (20) (see Pertzborn at least [pg. 2, para. 12, beginning with “The control unit”] The control unit and [pg. 3, para. 1, beginning with “In particular”] In particular, the control unit includes a microcontroller or is designed as a microcontroller),
wherein the washing nozzle (18) is arranged in the area of the wiper blade (14) and is configured to be moved along a windshield (30) of the vehicle by means of the wiper arm (12) together with the wiper blade (14) and to dispense a washing liquid (40) in the vicinity of the wiper blade (14) (see Pertzborn at least [pg. 2, para. 9, beginning with “According to a first”] a windshield wiper system for vehicles is provided, comprising a windshield wiper element with a wiper blade that is movable over a window of a vehicle, the wiper blade contacting the vehicle window, a connecting element for connecting a pressurized cleaning fluid to the windshield wiper element, a plurality Nozzles that are arranged on the windshield wiper element in such a way that the cleaning fluid is sprayed onto the vehicle windshield in front of the wiper blade in the direction of movement of the windshield wiper element), and
the electronic controller (20) is configured to determine a partial area (50) of the windshield (30) of the vehicle to be cleaned by means of the windshield wiper system based on soiling (90) present on the windshield (30) of the vehicle, wherein the partial area (50) is a partial area of an overall wiping area (60) which can be reached by the wiper blade (14), wherein the soiling (90) is a non-water soiling (see Pertzborn at least [pg. 4, para. 6, beginning with “Furthermore, a row”] a sensor unit 44 and serve to detect dirt 51 located on the vehicle windshield 50 or their respective position on the surface of the windshield 50 . The dirt 51 can be, for example, dirt particles, bird droppings, insect remains, tree sap, etc.),
activate the dispensing of the washing liquid (40) upon reaching the partial area (50) (see Pertzborn at least [pg. 5, para. 7, beginning with “to clean the”] the cleaning liquid 18, for example water or cleaning water, to which a cleaning additive may have been added, is applied exclusively to the position where the dirt 51 is located).
Pertzborn does not teach: a wiper arm drive (16); determine a degree of wetting of the windshield (30) by a liquid in the area of the parking position (70) of the wiper blade (14),
activate the dispensing of the washing liquid (40) while the wiper blade (14) is in a parking position (70) and subsequently deactivate the dispensing of the washing liquid (40) while the wiper blade (14) remains in the parking position (70) in response to the degree of wetting being below a predefined threshold and not activate the dispensing of the washing liquid (40) while the wiper blade (14) is in the parking position (70) in response to the degree of wetting corresponding to or exceeding the predefined threshold,
control the wiper arm drive (16) in order to move the wiper blade (14) from the area of the parking position (70) of the wiper blade (14) to the determined partial area (50) of the windshield (30), and control the wiper arm drive (16) to exclusively sweep the partial area (50) for cleaning by means of an oscillating movement.
However, Ayache teaches: a wiper arm drive (16) (see Ayache at least [pg. 4, para. 17, beginning with “Each wiper 10”] the wiper includes a motor device 11 for moving the arm 12);
determine a degree of wetting of the windshield (30) by a liquid in the area of the parking position (70) of the wiper blade (14) (see Ayache at least [pg. 4, para. 4, beginning with “This aircraft also includes”] a water sensor to determine if the windshield is dry),
activate the dispensing of the washing liquid (40) while the wiper blade (14) is in a parking position (70) and subsequently deactivate the dispensing of the washing liquid (40) while the wiper blade (14) remains in the parking position (70) in response to the degree of wetting being below a predefined threshold and not activate the dispensing of the washing liquid (40) while the wiper blade (14) is in the parking position (70) in response to the degree of wetting corresponding to or exceeding the predefined threshold (see Ayache at least [pg. 4, para. 4, beginning with “This aircraft also includes”] if the windshield is dry, the treatment unit sends an order to the windshield washer to spray a liquid on the windshield, then sends an order to each windshield wiper to sweep the windshield with each windshield wiper, and If the windshield is wet, the processing unit sends an order to each windshield wiper to sweep the windshield with each windshield wiper without first using the windshield washer).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the dirt-identifying windshield wiping system disclosed by Pertzborn disclosed by Pertzborn to include the determination of windshield wetness before beginning wiping the windshields of Ayache. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because wiping a windshield when it is dry and possibly dirty may lead to scratching the windshield or excessive wear of the wiper blades, which can be avoided by properly wetting the windshield as necessary before wiping, as suggested by Ayache (see Ayache at least [pg. 3, para. 5, beginning with “As a result”] this method can lubricate the windshield if necessary to prevent the creation of a scratch or deterioration of the wipers).
Pertzborn and Ayache do not teach: control the wiper arm drive (16) in order to move the wiper blade (14) from the area of the parking position (70) of the wiper blade (14) to the determined partial area (50) of the windshield (30), and control the wiper arm drive (16) to exclusively sweep the partial area (50) for cleaning by means of an oscillating movement.
However, Du teaches: control the wiper arm drive (16) in order to move the wiper blade (14) from the area of the parking position (70) of the wiper blade (14) to the determined partial area (50) of the windshield (30), and control the wiper arm drive (16) to exclusively sweep the partial area (50) for cleaning by means of an oscillating movement (see Du at least [0045] a wiper arm 18 may normally operate through a full swipe angle α but if the camera 39 detects that debris 15 is located between a first swipe angle α1 and a second swipe angle α2 then the windshield monitoring system 12 may actuate the drive motor 24 to swipe between the first swipe angle α1 and the second swipe angle α2 rather than the full swipe angle α and [0006] The drive motor actuates the wiper arm ad the wiper blade between the first swipe angle of the wiper arm and a second swipe angle of the wiper arm).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the dirt-identifying windshield wiping system disclosed by Pertzborn and Ayache to include the targeted wiping location of Du. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because awareness of the soiling of a windshield may lead to targeted cleaning operations which can efficiently remove debris, as suggested by Du (see Du at least [0045] The windshield monitoring system 12 may determine the location and degree of accumulation (I.e., amount or quantity) of the debris 15 on the windshield 16 and adjust operation of the wiper arm 18 to target its specific location and degree of accumulation).
Regarding claim 3, Pertzborn, Ayache, and Du disclose: The windshield wiper system according to claim 1, wherein the electronic controller (20) is configured to deactivate the dispensing of the washing liquid (40) in the area of the parking position (70) of the wiper blade (14) after a predefined time and/or after sweeping over a predefined angle by the wiper arm (12) in the area of the parking position (70), and/or adjust a pressure at which the washing liquid (40) is dispensed from the washing nozzle (18) as a function of a direction of movement of the wiper blade (14) and a type and an extent of the soiling (90) present (see Pertzborn at least [pg. 4, para. 5, beginning with “The microcontroller 32”] during a pivoting movement S of the windshield wiper element 12 in direction B1 or to the left in the figure, only the nozzles 26 arranged on the left-hand side 12b of the windshield wiper element 12 are open. On the other hand, when the windshield wiper element 12 pivots in direction B2 or to the right in the figure, only the nozzles 28 that are on the opposite, right-hand side 12c of the windshield wiper element 12 are open and [pg. 4, para. 9, beginning with “In this way,”] The windshield wiper system 10 ensures that the water pressure or the pressure of the cleaning fluid 18 is high enough to remove stubborn dirt from the windshield 50).
Regarding claim 5, Pertzborn, Ayache, and Du disclose: The windshield wiper system according to claim 1, wherein the partial area (50) to be cleaned is a predefined area and/or an area determined based on a sensor system (100, 140), and/or the electronic controller (20) is configured to determine a size of the partial area (50) to be cleaned as a function of an extent and/or type of the soiling (90) present (see Pertzborn at least [pg. 5, para. 3, beginning with “in 2 further”] The sensor elements 35 and 36 are each arranged on the outside on the upper side 14a of the wiper blade 14, ie in the area of its lateral edges, whereby a particularly precise localization of the dirt or dirt particles is made possible when the wiper blade 14 moves over the windshield 50 located below the wiper blade 14 on the window 50).
Regarding claim 6, Pertzborn, Ayache, and Du disclose: The windshield wiper system according to claim 1, wherein the electronic controller (20) is configured to move the wiper blade (14) back and forth multiple times within the partial area (50) by means of a control of the wiper arm drive (16) without exiting the partial area (50), and/or activate the dispensing of the washing liquid (40) within the partial area (50) permanently and/or several times in succession, and/or adjust a frequency of sweeping the partial area (50) by means of the wiper blade (14) and/or a frequency and/or duration of activation of the washing nozzle (18) within the partial area (50) and/or a wiping speed of the wiper blade (14) as a function of predefined parameter, and/or a type and/or an extent of the soiling (90) present in the partial area (50), and/or a sensor-determined progress of the cleaning operation of the partial area (50), and/or a type and/or an amount of precipitation present, and/or an outside temperature, and/or a driving speed, and/or a position of the soiling (90) on the windshield (30) (see Du at least [0045] Depending upon the degree of accumulation of debris 15 the windshield monitoring system 12 may also adjust the speed of the drive motor 24 between the first swipe angle α1 and the second swipe angle α2).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified The dirt-identifying windshield wiping system disclosed by Pertzborn, Ayache, and Du to include the debris-dependent wiping speed of Du. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because different types or intensities of windshield dirtying may require different cleaning approaches, such as faster wiping for a stuck-on mess, as suggested by Du (see Du at least [0045] a larger amount of debris 15 or debris that is more tightly adhered to the windshield 16 may require faster swiping by the wiper blades 14).
Regarding claim 7, Pertzborn, Ayache, and Du disclose: The windshield wiper system according to claim 1, wherein the washing nozzle of the windshield wiper is a first washing nozzle (18) (see Pertzborn at least [pg. 4, para. 5, beginning with “The microcontroller 32”] nozzles 26 arranged on the left-hand side),
the windshield wiper (10) comprises a second washing nozzle (19) arranged on an opposite side of the first washing nozzle (18) in the area of the wiper blade (14), such that the windshield wiper (10) is arranged to dispense the washing liquid (40) both in and against a current direction of movement of the wiper blade (14) based on the two washing nozzles (18, 19) (see Pertzborn at least [pg. 4, para. 5, beginning with “The microcontroller 32”] nozzles 28 that are on the opposite, right-hand side and [Fig. 1] nozzles located on two different sides of the wiper blade configured to spray in either direction), and
the electronic controller (20) is configured to individually activate the first washing nozzle (18) and the second washing nozzle (19) as a function of a respective direction of movement of the wiper blade (14) and/or a type and/or an extent of the soiling (90) and/or individually adjust a dispensing pressure of the washing liquid (40) (see Pertzborn at least [pg. 4, para. 5, beginning with “The microcontroller 32”] during a pivoting movement S of the windshield wiper element 12 in direction B1 or to the left in the figure, only the nozzles 26 arranged on the left-hand side 12b of the windshield wiper element 12 are open. On the other hand, when the windshield wiper element 12 pivots in direction B2 or to the right in the figure, only the nozzles 28 that are on the opposite, right-hand side 12c of the windshield wiper element 12 are open and [pg. 4, para. 9, beginning with “In this way,”] The windshield wiper system 10 ensures that the water pressure or the pressure of the cleaning fluid 18 is high enough to remove stubborn dirt from the windshield 50).
Regarding claim 9, Pertzborn, Ayache, and Du disclose: The windshield wiper system according to claim 1, wherein the windshield wiper (10) comprises a further wiper arm (112) having a further wiper blade (114), a further wiper arm drive (116), and a further washing nozzle (118) (see Du at least [Fig. 1] pictured are two wiper arms and two nozzles and [0046] the drive mechanism 20 of the wiper arm 18 and [0002] A wiper blade generally includes an arm that is pivotally attached to the vehicle at one end and that has blade attached to the other end),
the electronic controller (20) is configured to control the further wiper arm drive (116) and the further washing nozzle (118) to clean a further partial area (see Du at least [0051] At block 212, a drive motor 24 of a wiper system 11 is actuated to clean the location. The location may be the entire swipe angle α or a portion of the swipe angle α).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified The dirt-identifying windshield wiping system disclosed by Pertzborn, Ayache, and Du to include the two wiper arms with all the hardware of a single wiper arm of Du. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because depending on the location of the identified dirt on the windshield, it may be better reached by a second windshield wiper arm than a first arm and the arms are adjusted in order to target the mess, as suggested by Du (see Du at least [0045] The windshield monitoring system 12 may determine the location and degree of accumulation (I.e., amount or quantity) of the debris 15 on the windshield 16 and adjust operation of the wiper arm 18 to target its specific location and degree of accumulation).
Regarding claim 11, Pertzborn, Ayache, and Du disclose: The windshield wiper system according to claim 1, wherein the electronic controller (20) is configured to determine a size of the partial area (50) to be cleaned as a function of an extent and/or type of the soiling (90) present (see Du at least [0054] The method 200 may further comprise: determining a size (i.e., quantity) of the debris 15. The actuation of the drive motor 24 may be adjusted in response to the size of debris 15).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified The dirt-identifying windshield wiping system disclosed by Pertzborn, Ayache, and Du to include the size-dependent wiping of Du. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because different extents of debris on the windshield may require different amounts of wiping over different areas in order to clean up the debris, as suggested by Du (see Du at least [0054] debris 15 larger in size may require the drive motor 24 to be actuated for a longer period of time than debris of a smaller size).
Regarding claim 12, Pertzborn, Ayache, and Du disclose: the windshield wiper system according to claim 1, wherein the electronic controller (20) is configured to adjust a frequency of sweeping the partial area (50) by means of the wiper blade (14), a frequency, duration of activation of the washing nozzle (18) within the partial area (50), and a wiping speed of the wiper blade (14) as a function of a type and an extent of the soiling (90) present in the partial area (50) (see Du at least [0052] The type of debris 15 may determine the speed of the actuation of the drive motor 24 and also the duration of the actuation of the drive motor… if debris 15 is difficult to remove, then at least one of the speed of the actuation of the drive motor 24 may be increased and the wiper fluid 64 usage may be increased and [0054] The size of debris 15 may determine the speed of actuation of the drive motor 24 and also the duration of actuation of the drive motor 24).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified The dirt-identifying windshield wiping system disclosed by Pertzborn, Ayache, and Du to include the determination of wiping and spraying values depending on characteristics of the windshield mess of Du. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because different extents of debris on the windshield may require different amounts of wiping and/or different amounts of fluid spray in order to clean up the debris, as suggested by Du (see Du at least [0054] debris 15 larger in size may require the drive motor 24 to be actuated for a longer period of time than debris of a smaller size).
Regarding claim 13, Pertzborn, Ayache, and Du disclose: The windshield wiper system according to claim 1, wherein the electronic controller (20) is configured to adjust a frequency of sweeping the partial area (50) by means of the wiper blade (14), a frequency, duration of activation of the washing nozzle (18) within the partial area (50), and a wiping speed of the wiper blade (14) as a function of a position of the soiling (90) on the windshield (30) (see Du at least [0054] The method 200 may further comprise: determining a size (i.e., quantity) of the debris 15. The actuation of the drive motor 24 may be adjusted in response to the size of debris 15. The size of debris 15 may determine the speed of actuation of the drive motor 24 and also the duration of actuation of the drive motor 24. In one example, debris 15 larger in size may require the drive motor 24 to be actuated for a longer period of time than debris of a smaller size. In another example, debris 15 smaller in size may be removed quickly with faster actuation whereas debris larger in size may be best removed with slower actuation. A wiper fluid spray system 60 may be activated in response to the size of debris 15. The size of debris may determine the quantity of wiper fluid 64 used. For example, large amount on debris 15 may require a large amount of wiper fluid 64 to loosen the debris from the windshield 16 while a smaller amount of debris may require less wiper fluid).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified The dirt-identifying windshield wiping system disclosed by Pertzborn, Ayache, and Du to include the determination of wiping and spraying values depending on characteristics of the windshield mess of Du. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because different extents of debris on the windshield may require different amounts of wiping and/or different amounts of fluid spray in order to clean up the debris, such as larger messes occupying larger positions requiring more wiping, as suggested by Du (see Du at least [0054] debris 15 larger in size may require the drive motor 24 to be actuated for a longer period of time than debris of a smaller size).
Regarding claim 14, Pertzborn, Ayache, and Du disclose: The windshield wiper system according to claim 1, wherein the electronic controller (20) is configured to individually activate the washing nozzle (18) and second washing nozzle (19) as a function of a respective direction of movement of the wiper blade (14), a type and an extent of the soiling (90), and/or individually adjust a dispensing pressure of the washing liquid (40) (see Pertzborn at least [pg. 4, para. 5, beginning with “The microcontroller 32”] during a pivoting movement S of the windshield wiper element 12 in direction B1 or to the left in the figure, only the nozzles 26 arranged on the left-hand side 12b of the windshield wiper element 12 are open. On the other hand, when the windshield wiper element 12 pivots in direction B2 or to the right in the figure, only the nozzles 28 that are on the opposite, right-hand side 12c of the windshield wiper element 12 are open and [pg. 4, para. 9, beginning with “In this way,”] The windshield wiper system 10 ensures that the water pressure or the pressure of the cleaning fluid 18 is high enough to remove stubborn dirt from the windshield 50).
Regarding claim 18¸ Pertzborn discloses: A windshield wiper system for a vehicle (see Pertzborn at least [pg. 1, para. 1, beginning with “The invention relates”] a windshield wiper system for vehicles) comprising:
a windshield wiper (10) (see Pertzborn at least [pg. 2, para. 9, beginning with “According to a first”] a windshield wiper system) comprising at least
a wiper arm (12) (see Pertzborn at least [pg. 2, para. 9, beginning with “According to a first”] a windshield wiper system for vehicles is provided, comprising a windshield wiper element),
a wiper blade (14) (see Pertzborn at least [pg. 2, para. 9, beginning with “According to a first”] a wiper blade), and
a washing nozzle (18) (see Pertzborn at least [pg. 2, para. 9, beginning with “According to a first”] a plurality Nozzles that are arranged on the windshield wiper element),
a sensor (see Pertzborn at least [pg. 4, para. 6, beginning with “Furthermore, a row”] a sensor unit), and
An electronic controller (20), wherein the washing nozzle (18) is arranged in an area of the wiper blade (14) and is configured to be moved along a windshield (30) of the vehicle by means of the wiper arm (12) together with the wiper blade (14) and to dispense a washing liquid (40) in a vicinity of the wiper blade (14) (see Pertzborn at least [pg. 2, para. 12, beginning with “The control unit”] The control unit and [pg. 3, para. 1, beginning with “In particular”] In particular, the control unit includes a microcontroller or is designed as a microcontroller and [pg. 2, para. 9, beginning with “According to a first”] a windshield wiper system for vehicles is provided, comprising a windshield wiper element with a wiper blade that is movable over a window of a vehicle, the wiper blade contacting the vehicle window, a connecting element for connecting a pressurized cleaning fluid to the windshield wiper element, a plurality Nozzles that are arranged on the windshield wiper element in such a way that the cleaning fluid is sprayed onto the vehicle windshield in front of the wiper blade in the direction of movement of the windshield wiper element), and
activate the dispensing of the washing liquid (40) upon reaching the partial area (50) (see Pertzborn at least [pg. 5, para. 7, beginning with “to clean the”] the cleaning liquid 18, for example water or cleaning water, to which a cleaning additive may have been added, is applied exclusively to the position where the dirt 51 is located).
Pertzborn does not teach: a wiper arm drive (16), the electronic controller (20) is configured to receive information from the sensor, the sensor information indicating a portion of a field of view of the sensor is restricted , determine a partial area (50) of the windshield (30) of the vehicle to be cleaned by means of the windshield wiper system based on the portion of the restricted field of view, wherein the partial area (50) is a partial area of an overall wiping area (60) which can be reached by the wiper blade (14), determine a degree of wetting of the windshield (30) by a liquid in the area of a parking position (70) of the wiper blade (14), prior to moving the wiper blade (14) from the parking position (70), activate the dispensing of the washing liquid (40) while the wiper blade (14) is in the parking position (70) and subsequently deactivate the dispensing of the washing liquid (40) while the wiper blade (14) remains in the parking position (70) in response to the degree of wetting being below a predefined threshold and not activate the dispensing of the washing liquid (40) while the wiper blade (14) is in the parking position (70) in response to the degree of wetting corresponding to or exceeding the predefined threshold, control the wiper arm drive (16) in order to move the wiper blade (14) from an area of the parking position (70) of the wiper blade (14) to the determined partial area (50) of the windshield (30), and control the wiper arm drive (16) to exclusively sweep the partial area (50) for cleaning by means of an oscillating movement.
However, Du teaches: a wiper arm drive (16) (see Du at least [0035] the pivotal movement of the wiper arm 18 is driven by a drive mechanism 20),
the electronic controller (20) is configured to receive information from the sensor, the sensor information indicating a portion of a field of view of the sensor is restricted (see Du at least [0043] The windshield monitoring system 12 is m electronic communication with the camera 39 that detects visibility through the windshield 16),
determine a partial area (50) of the windshield (30) of the vehicle to be cleaned by means of the windshield wiper system based on the portion of the restricted field of view, wherein the partial area (50) is a partial area of an overall wiping area (60) which can be reached by the wiper blade (14) (see Du at least [0044] The camera 39 may capture images of the debris 15 on the windshield 16 and transmit the images to the windshield monitoring system 12. The windshield monitoring system 12 uses image processing (e.g., machine learning) to analyze the images to determine the location of the debris 15 on the windshield and degree of accumulation of the debris 15 on the windshield 16),
control the wiper arm drive (16) in order to move the wiper blade (14) from an area of the parking position (70) of the wiper blade (14) to the determined partial area (50) of the windshield (30) (see Du at least [0045] a wiper arm 18 may normally operate through a full swipe angle α but if the camera 39 detects that debris 15 is located between a first swipe angle α1 and a second swipe angle α2 then the windshield monitoring system 12 may actuate the drive motor 24 to swipe between the first swipe angle α1 and the second swipe angle α2 rather than the full swipe angle α), and
control the wiper arm drive (16) to exclusively sweep the partial area (50) for cleaning by means of an oscillating movement (see Du at least [0006] The drive motor actuates the wiper arm ad the wiper blade between the first swipe angle of the wiper arm and a second swipe angle of the wiper arm).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified dirt-identifying windshield wiping system disclosed by Pertzborn to include the targeted wiping location of Du. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because awareness of the soiling of a windshield may lead to targeted cleaning operations which can efficiently remove debris, as suggested by Du (see Du at least [0045] The windshield monitoring system 12 may determine the location and degree of accumulation (I.e., amount or quantity) of the debris 15 on the windshield 16 and adjust operation of the wiper arm 18 to target its specific location and degree of accumulation).
Pertzborn and Du do not teach: determine a degree of wetting of the windshield (30) by a liquid in the area of a parking position (70) of the wiper blade (14), prior to moving the wiper blade (14) from the parking position (70), activate the dispensing of the washing liquid (40) while the wiper blade (14) is in the parking position (70) and subsequently deactivate the dispensing of the washing liquid (40) while the wiper blade (14) remains in the parking position (70) in response to the degree of wetting being below a predefined threshold and not activate the dispensing of the washing liquid (40) while the wiper blade (14) is in the parking position (70) in response to the degree of wetting corresponding to or exceeding the predefined threshold.
However, Ayache teaches: determine a degree of wetting of the windshield (30) by a liquid in the area of a parking position (70) of the wiper blade (14) (see Ayache at least [pg. 4, para. 4, beginning with “This aircraft also includes”] a water sensor to determine if the windshield is dry),
prior to moving the wiper blade (14) from the parking position (70), activate the dispensing of the washing liquid (40) while the wiper blade (14) is in the parking position (70) and subsequently deactivate the dispensing of the washing liquid (40) while the wiper blade (14) remains in the parking position (70) in response to the degree of wetting being below a predefined threshold and not activate the dispensing of the washing liquid (40) while the wiper blade (14) is in the parking position (70) in response to the degree of wetting corresponding to or exceeding the predefined threshold (see Ayache at least [pg. 4, para. 4, beginning with “This aircraft also includes”] if the windshield is dry, the treatment unit sends an order to the windshield washer to spray a liquid on the windshield, then sends an order to each windshield wiper to sweep the windshield with each windshield wiper, and If the windshield is wet, the processing unit sends an order to each windshield wiper to sweep the windshield with each windshield wiper without first using the windshield washer).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the dirt-identifying windshield wiping system disclosed by Pertzborn disclosed by Pertzborn to include the determination of windshield wetness before beginning wiping the windshields of Ayache. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because wiping a windshield when it is dry and possibly dirty may lead to scratching the windshield or excessive wear of the wiper blades, which can be avoided by properly wetting the windshield as necessary before wiping, as suggested by Ayache (see Ayache at least [pg. 3, para. 5, beginning with “As a result”] this method can lubricate the windshield if necessary to prevent the creation of a scratch or deterioration of the wipers).
Claim(s) 2 and 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pertzborn, in view of Ayache, further in view of Du, and further in view of WO 2012159844 A1 DIAS DOMINIQUE (hereinafter Dias).
Regarding claim 2, Pertzborn, Ayache, and Du disclose: The windshield wiper system according to claim 1.
Pertzborn, Ayache, and Du do not teach: wherein the predefined threshold is defined as a function of a frictional resistance between the wiper blade (14) and the windshield (30).
However, Dias teaches: wherein the predefined threshold is defined as a function of a frictional resistance between the wiper blade (14) and the windshield (30) (see Dias at least [pg. 8, lines 2-4] The predetermined or threshold value can be equal to or slightly above a predetermined wet-state friction coefficient value, stored in memory and [pg. 8, lines 24-28] Since residual water remains on windshield surface S, the friction coefficient remains low, the controller 9 still detects the surface S being wet, and therefore continues the wiping even though a stop instruction has been received. After a certain wiping time, surface S is dry, the friction increases, and the controller 9 detecting the increased friction stops the wiping).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified dirt-identifying windshield wiping system disclosed by Pertzborn, Ayache, and Du to include the friction-dependent windshield threshold determination of Dias. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because the friction relates to the wearing of the blade if used on dry surfaces, which can be avoided by only wiping wetted windshields, as suggested by Dias (see Dias at least [pg. 2, lines 8-10] This method allows to determine the wetness state of the windshield surface to avoid unnecessary wiping of the dry surface, said wiping of dry surface implying useless power consumption and blade wearing).
Regarding claim 4, Pertzborn, Ayache, Du, and Dias disclose: The windshield wiper system according to claim 2, wherein the degree of wetting of the windshield (30) in the area of the parking position (70) is determined based on a rain sensor (140), and/or a camera (100), and/or weather data, and/or a level of a current consumption of the wiper arm drive (16) and/or a driving speed of the vehicle (see Ayache at least [pg. 2, para. 3, beginning with “In addition, an automatic”] an automatic cleaning system may include a rain sensor).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the dirt-identifying windshield wiping system disclosed by Pertzborn, Ayache, Du, and Dias to include the rain sensor of Ayache. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because whether or not rain hits the windshield may affect whether or not spraying liquid is necessary to avoid dry sweeping, such as whether or not to apply fluid, as suggested by Ayache (see Ayache at least [pg. 3, para. 15, beginning with “Unlike the state”] the spraying of a liquid and the sweeping of a wiper are not simultaneous to avoid sweeping a dry surface).
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pertzborn, in view of Ayache, further in view of Du, and further in view of GB 2326083 A SMITH PETER MUNROE (hereinafter Smith).
Regarding claim 8, Pertzborn, Ayache, and Du disclose: The windshield wiper system according to claim 7.
Pertzborn, Ayache, and Du do not teach: wherein the wiper system is configured to perform the individual activation of the first washing nozzle (18) and the second washing nozzle (19) based on separate washing liquid pumps (120, 122) and/or separate valves (130, 132) in respective feed lines of the washing nozzles (18, 19).
However, Smith teaches: wherein the wiper system is configured to perform the individual activation of the first washing nozzle (18) and the second washing nozzle (19) based on separate washing liquid pumps (120, 122) and/or separate valves (130, 132) in respective feed lines of the washing nozzles (18, 19) (see Smith at least [pg. 8, line 26 - pg. 9, line 2] the pump 12 delivers cleaning liquid via delivery tubing 13, 14 and branch tubing sections 15, 16, 17, 18 to spray nozzle outlets on either side of the nozzle and [pg. 9, lines 14-16] Figure 4 illustrates a possible alternative arrangement where the single dual action pump 12 is replaced by two separate pumps 22, 23).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified The dirt-identifying windshield wiping system disclosed by Pertzborn, Ayache, and Du to include the dual pumps of Smith. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because specific control hardware for individual nozzles allows for more discriminate and efficient spraying of washing liquid, as suggested by Smith (see Smith at least [pg. 4, lines 4-7] an improved windscreen cleaning system for a windshield of a motor vehicle which enables an efficient use of washing liquid during washing of the windshield).
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pertzborn, in view of Ayache, further in view of Du, and further in view of DE 102015217424 A1 ERNST WALDEMAR (hereinafter Ernst).
Regarding claim 10, Pertzborn, Ayache, and Du disclose: The windshield wiper system according to claim 9.
Pertzborn, Ayache, and Du do not teach: wherein the electronic controller (20) is configured to move the wiper arm (12, 112) of the windshield wiper (10) in whose cleaning area no cleaning is currently required to an upper helical position (80) by means of a control of the corresponding wiper arm drive (16, 116) and leave it there until cleaning of the windshield (30) is completed by another wiper arm (12, 112).
However, Ernst teaches: wherein the electronic controller (20) is configured to move the wiper arm (12, 112) of the windshield wiper (10) in whose cleaning area no cleaning is currently required to an upper helical position (80) by means of a control of the corresponding wiper arm drive (16, 116) and leave it there until cleaning of the windshield (30) is completed by another wiper arm (12, 112) (see Ernst at least [pg. 3, para. 10, beginning with “Is from the detection”] The first wiper 12 is doing by the electronic control 32 over the first drive 26 continuing to oscillate between the upper reversal position and the lower reversal position over the disc moves. In motor vehicles where the rest position of the wiper 12 . 14 Located in the upper turning position, the more wiper can 14 of course, be moved to this position and remain there. On the windshield 16 then only the first wiper moves in the stop state 12).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the dirt-identifying windshield wiping system disclosed by Pertzborn, Ayache, and Du to include the single wiper cleaning of Ernst. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because it saves energy to only move one windshield wiper arm while the other wiper arm rests at the edge of the windshield, as suggested by Ernst (see Ernst at least [pg. 2, para. 3, beginning with “It is particularly”] It is particularly advantageous here that the energy consumption of the windscreen wiper device in the stop state is drastically reduced, since only one wiper is moved over the windshield).
Claim(s) 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pertzborn, in view of Ayache, further in view of Du, and further in view of JP 4176448 B2 KOKURYO KAZUTO et al. (hereinafter Kokuryo).
Regarding claim 15, Pertzborn, Ayache, and Du disclose: The windshield wiper system according to claim 1, wherein the soiling (90) present on the windshield (30) of the vehicle is dried-on (see Kokuryo at least [0006] if the wiper wiper is not wiped in view of the worsening of the field of view, the adhering muddy water is dried by the traveling wind or the like, and it becomes more difficult to wipe off).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the dirt-identifying windshield wiping system disclosed by Pertzborn, Ayache, and Du to include the consideration of dried-on mud and other windshield debris of Kokuryo. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because special consideration of dried-on messes is necessary because there can be serious implications of worsening messes such as spreading muck around instead of cleaning it off, as suggested by Kokuryo (see Kokuryo at least [0006] care must be taken when water is not sufficiently supplied to the windshield due to rainfall or the like. In other words, simply wiping off spreads the adhering muddy water on the windshield with the wiper blade, which worsens the field of view).
Claim(s) 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pertzborn, in view of Ayache, further in view of Du, and further in view of US 20220176912 A1 Zhang; Junhao et al. (hereinafter Zhang).
Regarding claim 16, Pertzborn, Ayache, and Du disclose: The windshield wiper system according to claim 1.
Pertzborn, Ayache, and Du do not teach: wherein the electronic controller (20) is configured to adjust a frequency of sweeping the partial area (50) by means of the wiper blade (14), a frequency and duration of activation of the washing nozzle (18) within the partial area (50), and a wiping speed of the wiper blade (14) as a function a driving speed of the vehicle.
However, Zhang teaches: wherein the electronic controller (20) is configured to adjust a frequency of sweeping the partial area (50) by means of the wiper blade (14), a frequency and duration of activation of the washing nozzle (18) within the partial area (50), and a wiping speed of the wiper blade (14) as a function a driving speed of the vehicle (see Zhang at least [0125] The second cleaning tool, such as a windshield wiper and [0132] In different traveling statuses or different driver statuses, adaptive adjustment is performed on working duration and a working frequency of the second cleaning tool, to minimize impact of vehicle window cleaning on the driver and ensure security in a vehicle traveling process and [0133] Then the working frequency of the second cleaning tool is determined based on the traveling status and/or the driver status and [0169] Then the working interval of the third cleaning tool is determined based on the traveling status and/or the driver status... the third cleaning tool may be cleaning liquid, and the working duration of the third cleaning tool is duration of spraying the cleaning liquid. In addition, the traveling status may be a traveling speed of the vehicle, including a high speed, a medium speed, and a low speed).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the dirt-identifying windshield wiping system disclosed by Pertzborn, Ayache, and Du to include the vehicle speed-based windshield cleaning modifications of Zhang. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because adaptive adjustments to the windshield wiping system provide more appropriate windshield cleaning given the environmental conditions while avoiding distracting the driver, as suggested by Zhang (see Zhang at least [0169] In different traveling statuses or different driver statuses, adaptive adjustment is performed on working duration and a working interval of the third cleaning tool, to minimize impact of vehicle window cleaning on a driver and ensure security in a vehicle traveling process).
Claim(s) 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pertzborn, in view of Ayache, further in view of Du, and further in view of EP 1259406 B1 SCHMID BERND et al. (hereinafter Schmid).
Regarding claim 17, Pertzborn, Ayache, and Du disclose: The windshield wiper system according to claim 1.
Pertzborn, Ayache, and Du do not teach: wherein the degree of wetting of the windshield (30) in the area of the parking position (70) is determined based on a level of a current consumption of the wiper arm drive (16) and a driving speed of the vehicle.
However, Schmid teaches: wherein the degree of wetting of the windshield (30) in the area of the parking position (70) is determined based on a level of a current consumption of the wiper arm drive (16) and a driving speed of the vehicle (See Schmid at least [pg. 3, para. 4, beginning with “In addition to”] In addition to the degree of wetting of the disk surface as the operating signal signals are conceivable, which are dependent on the vehicle speed and / or the motor current and / or the caster of the motor after switching off the motor and / or the speed of the wiper).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the dirt-identifying windshield wiping system disclosed by Pertzborn, Ayache, and Du to include the current-based determination of windshield wetting of Schmid. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because the load on a windshield wiper motor depends on the wetness/dryness-associated friction encountered between the windshield and the wiper, and calculation of that value can allow for overcoming the weather-related friction, as suggested by Schmid (see Schmid at least [pg. 2, para. 7, beginning with “In another preferred”] A high load of the motor points to a higher frictional resistance between the wiper and the disc, whereby the wiping angle can be corrected according to the invention).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 06/30/2026 have been fully considered.
Applicant's amendments overcome the objections to the claim(s).
Applicant's amendments overcome the 35 interpretation of the claims under U.S.C. §112(f).
Regarding the arguments provided for the 35 U.S.C. §103 rejections of claim(s) 1-18 (remarks pages 10-13), the applicant's arguments have been considered but are moot because of new grounds of rejection.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 20190084528 A1 HERZINGER; Michael et al. discloses A wiper system to apply wiper fluid to a vehicle window includes at least one wiper arm, at least one sensor, and at least one control apparatus. The sensor is configured to detect, during a wiping operation, the wiper arm in at least one defined position in a wiping area of the wiper arm, and to send a detection signal to the control apparatus.
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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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 mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ELLE ROSE KNUDSON whose telephone number is (703)756-1742. The examiner can normally be reached 1000-1700 ET M-F.
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/ELLE ROSE KNUDSON/Examiner, Art Unit 3667
/Hitesh Patel/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3667
9/11/26
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