DETAILED ACTION
This is a first Non-Final Office Action on the merits in response to the application filed 11/08/23. The request for foreign priority to a corresponding KR application filed 06/19/23. Claims 1-20 are currently pending yet all are rejected as detailed below. 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
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.
Kim
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kim (U.S. Patent Pub. No. 2021/0229646). Kim is directed to a method and system of controlling braking of a vehicle. See Abstract.
Claim 1: Kim discloses an electrified vehicle comprising: a first motor (2) configured to be connected to a first drive wheel (1) based on an engagement state of a disconnector (6); a second motor (8) connected to a second drive wheel (7); and a controller (120) configured to: control the engagement state of the disconnector based on required braking force before regenerative braking force generated by the second motor reaches an upper limit [see Fig. 5 (S12-S16); para. 0075-76 (“maximum stability index…may be set as the reference value A… the brake controller may be configured to compare the driver-required braking torque with a torque at which the regenerative braking by the rear wheel motor is possible…”)], while the second motor is performing regenerative braking, and control, based on the engagement state of the disconnector, regenerative braking force of the first motor and the second motor [see Fig. 5 (S16-S26); para. 0077-79 (“The driver-required braking torque may be divided into the front wheel braking torque and the rear wheel braking torque”)]. See Figs. 1, 4, 35.
Claim 2: Kim discloses that the controller is configured to control the engagement state of the disconnector irrespective of the regenerative braking force generated by the second motor. See Figs. 5, 7; para. 0097, 0133.
Claim 3: Kim discloses that the controller is configured to, based on the required braking force being greater than the upper limit of the regenerative braking force by the second motor, control the disconnector to be engaged. See Fig. 5 (S15, S19).
Claim 4: Kim discloses that the controller is configured to, based on a rate of increase in the required braking force being greater than a predetermined value, control the disconnector to be engaged. See para. 0097.
Claim 5: Kim discloses that the controller is configured to, based on the disconnector being engaged, distribute the required braking force to the first motor and the second motor, and wherein the required braking force is distributed to the second motor so that the regenerative braking force generated by the second motor reaches the upper limit. See para. 0098-99.
Claim 6: Kim discloses that the controller is configured to, based on the disconnector being engaged, control the required braking force to be supplied via hydraulic braking, the required braking force being greater than the regenerative braking force generated by the first motor and the second motor. See para. 0078-81.
Claim 7: Kim discloses that the second motor is configured to maintain a continuous connection with the second drive wheel. See Fig. 1.
Claim 8: see claim 1 above.
Claim 9: see claim 2 above.
Claim 10: see claim 3 above.
Claim 11: see claim 4 above.
Claim 12: see claim 5 above.
Claim 13: see claim 6 above.
Claim 14: see claim 7 above.
Claim 15: see claim 1 above. Kim discloses using a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a program with this functionality. See para. 0042; claim 17.
Claim 16: see claim 2 above.
Claim 17: see claim 3 above.
Claim 18: see claim 4 above.
Claim 19: see claim 5 above.
Claim 20: see claim 6 above.
Conclusion
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VISHAL SAHNI
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3657
/VISHAL R SAHNI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3616 January 21, 2026