DETAILED ACTION
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 § 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.
Claims 1, 2, 10, 11 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Miranda et al. (US 2022/0234552 A1) in view of Dang (FR 3073478 A1).
Re claims 1 and 10, Miranda et al. teach a method for controlling autonomous braking, the method comprising: receiving a command for application of a brake pressure; controlling a primary valve set (42), via an electronic control unit (12), to a first defined pressure to apply a braking power in response to the received command; controlling a secondary valve set (49), via the ECU, to a second defined pressure in response to the received command; and controlling the secondary valve set, via the ECU, to the first defined pressure in response to a determination that the braking power applied by the primary valve set is below a low command threshold. ([0043]-[0051], [102]-[103])
Miranda et al. do not teach wherein the second defined pressure is less than the first defined pressure; and controlling the secondary valve set, via the ECU, to the first defined pressure in response to a determination that the braking power applied by the primary valve set is below a low command threshold, wherein the low command threshold is less than the first defined pressure. Dang teaches wherein a second defined pressure (Cfc2) is less than the first defined pressure (Cf); and controlling the secondary actuator, via the ECU, to the first defined pressure in response to a determination that the braking power applied by the primary actuator is below a low command threshold, wherein the low command threshold is less than the first defined pressure. Dang teaches wherein the corrected setpoint (Cfc2) can be a pressure which is missing which would can be less than first pressure (Cf). (Machine translation - Page 6, lines 1-5) It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the invention was made provide a second defined pressure that is less than a first defined pressure to provide accurate braking in the event of a failure. (Machine Translation - Page 2, lines 33-40)
Re claims 2 and 11, Miranda et al. as modified teach wherein the second valve set is controlled to the second defined pressure after a defined delay period from when the command is received. (Dang, Machine Translation – Page 5, Par. 9)
Re claim 19, Miranda et al. teach a method for controlling autonomous braking, the method comprising: configuring a primary valve set (42) for normal braking operation; configuring a secondary valve set (49) for backup braking operation; pre-staging the secondary valve set during normal braking operation; actuating the pre-staged secondary valve set during a failure of the primary valve set.
Miranda et al. do not teach increasing a pressure of the pre-staged secondary valve to a pressure for normal braking operation to be applied to one or more brakes in response to the failure of the primary valve set. Dang teaches increasing a pressure (Cfc2) of the pre-staged secondary actuator to a pressure for normal braking operation to be applied to one or more brakes in response to the failure of the primary actuator. (Machine translation - Page 6, lines 1-5) It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the invention was made to increase a pressure of a pre-staged secondary valve to a pressure for normal braking operation to be applied to one or more brakes in response to the failure of a primary valve set to provide accurate braking in the event of a failure. (Machine Translation - Page 2, lines 33-40)
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 3-9, 12-19 and 20 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Harrison, and Bareiss et al., teach similar methods for controlling autonomous braking.
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/MELANIE TORRES WILLIAMS/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3616
MTWMarch 5, 2026