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 .
Response to Arguments
The objections to the claims and rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b) is hereby withdrawn, responsive to the amendment resolving the issues raised in the previous Office Action.
Claims 1–9 stand rejected as obvious over Seo in view of Bagnariol, and the rejection now further extends to claims 10–12 and 14–20 responsive to the amendment to claim 10 adding similar limitations as those added to claim 1.
The Applicant’s arguments for each of the rejections concern whether Seo teaches the boost reserve that the amendment now adds to the claims. The Examiner agrees that this reserve concept is missing from Seo, but respectfully disagrees that Bagnariol cannot remedy Seo’s deficiency. To the contrary, Bagnariol teaches exactly this concept, for the reasons set forth in the updated rejections, below.
Therefore, since all of the claims are rejected, the Applicant’s request for a notice of allowance (Response 10) is respectfully denied.
Claim Rejections – 35 U.S.C. § 112(a)
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1–20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Independent claims 1, 10, and 19 each recite a battery pack “having” an amount of energy that includes a “predetermined maximum boost energy being reserved for a boost mode.” The Written Description does not disclose this arrangement. That is, while the battery may inherently have different portions of energy, those different portions are not tracked by the battery, they are tracked by the software. The Applicant relies on battery indicator 500 for amendment in 71–72, but paragraph 74 stresses that the energy in the battery is fungible, and that it’s the software that enforces this rather than the battery hardware itself.
Accordingly, claims 1, 10, and 19 are understood to recite new matter, and thus so do all the dependent claims, by virtue of their incorporation of the new matter of their parent claims by reference.
Claim Rejections – 35 U.S.C. § 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.
I. Seo and Bagnariol teach claims 1–12 and 14–20.
Claim(s) 1–9 and 14–20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2024/0109417 A1 (“Seo”)1 in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2022/0241696 A1 (“Bagnariol”).
Claim 1
Seo teaches:
An electric vehicle, comprising:
“Described are a display system for a vehicle, a saddle-riding vehicle, and a display method for the vehicle according to an embodiment.” Seo ¶ 20; see also Seo FIG. 1. The vehicle may be powered by an electric motor, see Seo ¶ 24, as will be discussed below.
a frame;
Referring now to FIG. 1, the disclosed vehicle 10 “includes a vehicle body frame 12.” Seo ¶ 23.
a seat connected to the frame;
“A sheet 28 [sic, seat] on which the driver sits is provided on an upper side of the vehicle body frame 12.” Seo ¶ 23.
two front wheels rotationally connected to the frame;
The vehicle 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes a “front wheel 20,” Seo ¶ 23, but Seo further discloses that “the vehicle may be a four-wheel automobile driven by a driver sitting on a driver seat,” instead a two-wheeler. Seo ¶ 21. For example, “[i]t is not necessary that the saddle-riding vehicle is the automatic two-wheel vehicle. The saddle-riding vehicle may be an all terrain vehicle (ATV).” Seo ¶ 21.
a steering wheel operatively connected to the two front wheels;
“A handle device 40 is provided on the front side of the vehicle body frame 12. An orientation of the front wheel 20 is changed by a driver operating the handle device 40. The orientation of the front wheel 20 is changed, thus a travel direction of the automatic two-wheel vehicle 10 is changed.” Seo ¶ 23. Note that the handle device falls within the scope of a steering “wheel” because changing its orientation necessarily involves pivoting on a rotational axis.
two rear wheels rotationally connected to the frame;
The vehicle 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes a “rear wheel 22,” Seo ¶ 23, but Seo further discloses that “the vehicle may be a four-wheel automobile driven by a driver sitting on a driver seat,” instead a two-wheeler. Seo ¶ 21. For example, “[i]t is not necessary that the saddle-riding vehicle is the automatic two-wheel vehicle. The saddle-riding vehicle may be an all terrain vehicle (ATV).” Seo ¶ 21. In either case, “[t]he rear wheel 22 is rotatably supported on a back side of the vehicle body frame 12.” Seo ¶ 23.
an electric motor
“The travel power source 30 generates power for the automatic two-wheel vehicle 10 to travel. The travel power source 30 includes an electrical motor for traveling, for example.” Seo ¶ 24.
operatively connected to at least one of: the two front wheels; and the two rear wheels;
“The power of the travel power source 30 is transmitted to the rear wheel 22 via a power transmission mechanism 32, thereby rotationally driving the rear wheel 22.” Seo ¶ 24.
a control unit (CU) connected to the frame,
“The automatic two-wheel vehicle 10 includes a control device 61. The control device 61 is an electrical control device controlling each unit in the automatic two-wheel vehicle 10.” Seo ¶ 34.
the CU being electrically connected to the electric motor;
“The control device 61 includes a travel control processing function including a processing function of controlling the travel power source 30 via the travel drive circuit 34.” Seo ¶ 34.
an accelerator
“One of the pair of handle grips 42 on the right and left sides in the handle device 40 is a throttle 42a.” Seo ¶ 27.
a
“When the driver operates the throttle 42a, . . . [t]he received instruction is inputted to the control device 61 from the throttle 42a.” Seo ¶ 48. “The rotational speed of the travel power source 30 may be controlled in accordance with operations of the throttle 42a.” Seo ¶ 31. As shown in FIG. 2, such control is performed by the control device 61, making travel drive decisions in accordance with the throttle 42a as an input, as claimed, rather than the throttle 42a directly providing its input to the travel drive circuit.
a battery pack connected to the frame and electrically connected to the electric motor,
“The automatic two-wheel vehicle 10 may include a battery 48. Power from the battery 48 is supplied to the travel power source 30 via a travel drive circuit 34.” Seo ¶ 33.
the battery pack having a total battery energy,
By definition, battery 48 has a maximum capacity. For example, battery remaining amount image 55c (FIG. 3) indicates the remaining amount of battery 48, and spans from “F” to “E,” with “F” being the maximum. See Seo ¶ 58.
the total battery energy having a predetermined maximum boost energy and a non-boost energy, a sum of the predetermined maximum boost energy and the non-boost energy being equal to the total battery energy of the battery pack, the predetermined maximum boost energy being
The battery 48’s total energy is consumed by both normal travel and boosted travel, at different rates (see Seo ¶¶ 33–35), meaning the total energy in battery 48 is indeed equal to the sum of the amount of energy used for normal travel and for boosted travel. The maximum boost energy in Seo is also predetermined, but it is predetermined with respect to a set of one or more rules, rather than being the same amount for every trip. See Seo ¶ 73.
Importantly, one such rule allows for boosted travel until “battery 48 falls under a predetermined limitation state.” Seo ¶ 73. Taking the rule to its logical conclusion, the total energy of battery 48 is indeed the sum of the maximum available boost energy and whatever energy remains when we reach the limitation state (i.e., if the rider uses boost the entire time from full charge down to the limitation state).
Thus, in this respect, the difference between Seo and the claimed invention is that Seo’s battery 48 only reserves energy for normal travel, while the claimed invention reserves the energy for boosted travel.
a boost system, comprising:
“The automatic two-wheel vehicle 10 includes a display system 60,” which is illustrated in FIG. 2. Seo ¶ 44. Note that while it is called a “display system 60,” there are several components of system 60 that provide functionality other than merely display. Those components correspond to the claimed components of the claimed boost system as follows.
a manual boost controller,
“The automatic two-wheel vehicle 10 includes a boost switch 44.” Seo ¶ 28.
the manual boost controller communicating with the CU,
“The control device 61 is connected to . . . the boost switch 44.” Seo ¶ 46.
the CU being configured to determine that the manual boost controller is activated; and
When the driver operates the boost switch 44, “[t]he received instruction is inputted to the control device 61 from . . . the boost switch 44.” Seo ¶ 48.
a boost mode manager
“The control device 61 is a microcomputer including a processor 62 and a storage device 64,” which “stores a software program 65a.” Seo ¶ 45. FIG. 10 illustrates an example of some of the programming for software program 65a. See Seo ¶ 103.
communicating with the CU
“The processor 62 executes an arithmetic operation in accordance with a processing procedure described in the program 64a,” thereby directing the overall circuit of the control device 61 to perform operations (which will be discussed below). Seo ¶ 45.
and the battery pack,
Additionally, “[a] detection result of the various sensors 69 is inputted to the control device 61.” Seo ¶ 51. Those sensors 69 include “a sensor for measuring a remaining amount of the battery 48, a temperature sensor of the battery 48, or a sensor measuring current of a battery or an electrical motor,” among others. Seo ¶ 51.
the boost mode manager being configured to determine a remaining boost energy in response to the manual boost controller being activated, the remaining boost energy being a difference between the predetermined maximum boost energy and a total boost energy used,
“The normal travel mode and the boost mode are switched via the boost switch 44,” and in response, the control device 61 “executes travel control processing corresponding to the boost mode when the boost mode is set.” Seo ¶ 34. The program logic calculates a “boost remaining amount” by decrementing the amount of boost used by the driver from an initial “upper limit value.” Seo ¶¶ 87–89; see also Seo ¶ 71 (“The boost remaining amount as the boost limitation condition may be a remaining amount calculated by plural combination of the time, the consumed power amount, consumed current amount, and the temperature”). This is also known as the “boost limitation condition.” Seo ¶ 66.
“The boost output limitation state is determined based on the output of a battery remaining amount sensor 69a, for example. For example, it is assumed that a first reference value and a second reference value larger than the first reference value are previously set. It is determined that the boost cannot be performed when the battery remaining amount is smaller than the predetermined first reference value.” Seo ¶ 105.
the boost mode manager being configured to activate the boost mode and to send a command to the CU to add a boost torque to the operating torque using the remaining boost energy in response to the manual boost controller being activated and in response to a boos enable condition, the boost enable condition comprising the remaining boost energy being greater than zero.
“The control device 61 . . . executes travel control processing corresponding to the boost mode when the boost mode is set.” Seo ¶ 34. Specifically, based on the logic discussed above, “the travel drive circuit 34 controls a torque, the number of rotations and a rotational direction of the travel power source 30 in accordance with instruction by the control device 61 . . . within a range of the maximum energy corresponding to the boost mode” (rather than the lower range of the normal mode). Seo ¶ 47.
The driver is only allowed to travel in the boost mode until “the boost remaining amount becomes 0.” Seo ¶ 89.
In view of the foregoing, there are only two differences between Seo and the claimed invention: (1) the simple substitution of a hand-operated throttle 42a with a “pedal,” and (2) the predetermined maximum boost energy being reserved for a boost mode.
Bagnariol, however, teaches:
An electric vehicle, comprising: a frame; a seat connected to the frame; two front wheels rotationally connected to the frame; a steering wheel operatively connected to the two front wheels; two rear wheels rotationally connected to the frame; an electric motor operatively connected to at least one of: the two front wheels; and the two rear wheels;
“The field of the invention is that of karting,” Bagnariol ¶ 2, and the karts used in Bagnariol’s invention are understood to include “a tubular chassis without suspension, essentially carrying a motorisation, a seat for the driver, [and] a steering wheel to control the direction.” Bagnariol ¶ 2. “The motorisation can in particular be thermal or electric.” Bagnariol ¶ 2. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2, the karts are four-wheeled embodiments.
an accelerator pedal operatively connected to the frame; a pedal position sensor operatively connected to the accelerator pedal for sensing a position of the accelerator pedal,
The karts further include “a crankset, comprising an accelerator pedal and a brake pedal.” Bagnariol ¶ 2. The pedals are “mechanical elements” that are capable of receiving a degree of “stroke” from the driver. See Bagnariol ¶ 171.
a sum of the predetermined maximum boost energy and the non-boost energy being equal to the total battery energy of the battery pack, the predetermined maximum boost energy being reserved for a boost mode;
Bagnariol’s karts are equipped with a “boost” button (discussed further below) that “confer[s] a temporary increase in electric power, for example, in the case of an electric kart.” Bagnariol ¶ 102. Whether or not the driver is allowed to use the boost button depends on whether the driver “has a reserve of energy allowing him to activate [the] ‘boost’ effect.” Bagnariol ¶ 10.
a boost system, comprising: a manual boost controller, the manual boost controller communicating with the CU;
“The kart, in particular the steering wheel, can be equipped with one or more buttons 161 to 16N, allowing the transmission of a (virtual) shooting command to another kart to slow it down or an activation of a ‘boost’ or ‘turbo’ effect, conferring a temporary increase in electric power, for example, in the case of an electric kart.” Bagnariol ¶ 102.
and a boost mode manager communicating with the CU
As shown in FIG. 6, the karting system includes program logic that receives a game command 611, e.g., a “boost” request from activating one of the buttons, see Bagnariol ¶ 149, and makes a decision 66 of whether or not to perform an action 68 (in this example, the “boost”), depending on whether the game command 611 is in accordance with the rules in a rule base 661. Bagnariol ¶¶ 151–152.
Much like the claimed invention, the rules can include limitations on the amount of “boost” currently available to the driver. See Bagnariol ¶ 10.
and in response to a boost enable condition, the boost enable condition comprising the remaining boost energy being greater than zero, the boost mode manager sending a command to the CU to add a boost torque to the operating torque.
“These decisions lead to the transmission (68) of an action, if the decision is favourable, for example to act on the engine power (acceleration or slowdown) via the first network.” Bagnariol ¶ 152.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute Seo’s throttle with Bagnariol’s pedal, and to add or supplement to Seo’s boosting conditions with the idea of a general “reserve” of energy in the battery for the boost mode, for the following reasons.
Regarding the substitution of the throttle with the pedal, the Supreme Court has held that “the simple substitution of one known element for another” is prima facie obvious. KSR Int’l Co. v. Teleflex, Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 417 (2007).2 However, before reaching a conclusion of obviousness based on this rationale, MPEP § 2143 (subsection (I.)(B.)) instructs the Office to confirm that the evidence supports the following findings of fact:
(1) The prior art contained a device (method, product, etc.) which differed from the claimed device by the substitution of some components (step, element, etc.) with other components. The evidence for this finding was provided above, where each claim element, other than the physical pedal, was mapped to a corresponding teaching in Seo’s disclosure.
(2) The substituted components and their functions were known in the art. The evidence for this finding was also provided above, where several claim elements, including the accelerator pedal, were mapped to corresponding teachings in Bagnariol’s disclosure.
(3) One of ordinary skill in the art could have substituted one known element for another, and the results of the substitution would have been predictable. The evidence for this finding is that Seo explicitly discloses its vehicle “may be a four-wheel automobile driven by a driver sitting on a driver seat,” Seo ¶ 21, instead of a motorbike. Anyone familiar with “a four-wheel automobile driven by a driver sitting on a driver seat,” let alone an ordinarily-skilled automotive engineer, knows that four-wheeled automobiles are typically controlled with a foot pedal, and Bagnariol explicitly teaches such a vehicle.
Regarding the energy reserve for the battery, it is also recognized that “[o]bviousness can be established by combining or modifying the teachings of the prior art to produce the claimed invention where there is some teaching, suggestion, or motivation to do so.” MPEP § 2143.01. In this case, one would have been motivated to use Bagnariol’s boost “reserve” feature because “it could be interesting to offer similar enhancements” as those offered in video games, such as the boost feature, “in certain cases and for certain audiences with real karts, to combine the reality of driving with the gaming aspect.” Bagnariol ¶ 6.
In view of these findings, the Examiner concludes that it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute Seo’s handlebar throttle with Bagnariol’s pedal, and to add Bagnariol’s concept of reserved boost energy as well.
Claim 2
Seo and Bagnariol teach the electric vehicle of claim 1,
wherein the electric vehicle is an electric kart.
“The field of the invention is that of karting.” Bagnariol ¶ 2.
Claim 3
Seo and Bagnariol teach the electric vehicle of claim 1, wherein,
in response to the manual boost controller being activated, the remaining boost energy is continuously discharged.
“When the boost traveling is started in the boost mode, the boost remaining amount decreases,” and as shown in FIGS. 4–6, “the segmented regions 57a etc. sequentially enter a non-display state from right,” until “the boost remaining amount becomes 0, and the display area of the boost limitation condition information image 57 is minimized, or none of the segmented regions 57a etc. is displayed as illustrated in FIG. 6.” Seo ¶ 89.
Claim 4
Seo and Bagnariol teach the electric vehicle of claim 1,
wherein the boost system further comprises a human-machine interface (HMI) communicating with the CU and the battery pack, the HMI being configured to provide a remaining battery estimate.
“The various operation receiving devices 68 are a man-machine interface receiving the operation of the driver, and are a push switch, a slide switch, or a touch panel, for example.” Seo ¶ 50. With respect to the touch panel, Seo further teaches that “[a] display device 50 is disposed around the handle device 40” for “displaying an information image indicating vehicle information.” Seo ¶¶ 25–26. As shown in FIG. 2, it receives information about and from the battery via the control device 61. Consequently, as shown in FIG. 3, the display device 50 is instructed to display “a battery remaining amount image 55c,” which “is an image indicating a remaining amount of the battery 48.” Seo ¶¶ 57–58.
Claim 5
Seo and Bagnariol teach the electric vehicle of claim 4,
wherein the remaining battery estimate comprises a notification of at least one of the remaining boost energy, the predetermined maximum boost energy, and the total boost energy used.
“The control device 61 controls the display of the display device 50 to change a display area of the boost limitation condition information image 57 in accordance with the limitation condition in the boost traveling.” Seo ¶ 75.
Claim 6
Seo and Bagnariol teach the electric vehicle of claim 1, wherein,
in response to the boost enable condition, the boost mode manager is configured to send a command to the CU to add a boost torque to the operating torque for a maximum boost time.
“[T]he travel drive circuit 34 controls a torque, the number of rotations and a rotational direction of the travel power source 30 in accordance with instruction by the control device 61,” and does so “within a range of the maximum energy corresponding to the boost mode [whenever the vehicle is] in the boost mode,” Seo ¶ 47; see also Seo ¶ 41, until “the boost remaining amount becomes 0.” Seo ¶ 89.
Claim 7
Seo and Bagnariol teach the electric vehicle of claim 6,
wherein the boost enable condition further comprises a cooldown between boosts having elapsed.
“In the present embodiment, the control device 61 controls the display of the display device 50 so that the display area of the boost limitation condition information image 57 is increased as the boost limitation condition is eased. A state where the limitation condition is eased indicates that a limitation on the boost traveling is eased, that is, for example, a limitation of a time, an output, a temperature, or a consumed amount limiting the boost is eased. Thus, increase in the boost remaining amount indicates that the limitation condition is eased.” Seo ¶ 76.
Claim 8
Seo and Bagnariol teach the electric vehicle of claim 7,
wherein the boost system further comprises boost controls for setting at least one of a value of the predetermined maximum boost energy,
“[T]he boost remaining amount as an example of the boost limitation condition may be a power amount or a current amount which can be consumed by the boost traveling.” Seo ¶ 69. To control for power or current amount, “[a] maximum value of the power amount or the current amount which can be consumed by the boost traveling can be theoretically, experimentally, and empirically set in consideration of the load on the travel part.” Seo ¶ 69.
a value of the maximum boost time,
Alternatively or additionally, “the boost limitation condition may be a time equal to or shorter than n seconds,” where “[a]n upper limit value of n can be theoretically, experimentally, and empirically set in consideration of the load on the travel part.” Seo ¶ 68.
and a value of the cooldown between boosts.
As yet another alternative or additional boost limitation condition, “[a] maximum value of the temperature which can be increased by the boost traveling is theoretically, experimentally, and empirically set in consideration of the load on the travel part.” Seo ¶ 70.
Notably, Seo further teaches that any number or all of these factors may be considered in furtherance of replenishing the available amount of boost. See Seo ¶ 76.
Claim 9
Seo and Bagnariol teach the electric vehicle of claim 1, wherein adding the boost torque to the operating torque comprises
switching from a first torque profile to a second torque profile, the second torque profile having a higher torque than the first torque profile for a corresponding position of the accelerator pedal.
“Such a boost traveling may indicate a state where output characteristics are changed so that an acceleration performance is increased compared with the normal traveling. The output may be larger in the boost traveling than in the normal traveling even when the throttle operation amount is the same. An output change may be larger in the boost traveling than in the normal traveling even when a time change in which the throttle operation amount is increased is the same. The maximum energy in the boost mode may be energy per unit time in the boost mode or an accumulated value of energy stored in a period of the boost mode.” Seo ¶ 38. The obviousness of using a pedal for the “throttle operation” was discussed in the rejection of claim 1, and reincorporated into this rejection by reference.
Claim 10
Seo discloses
A boost system
As shown in FIG. 2, Seo discloses a system 60 comprising all of the same components as the claimed “boost system,” as well as the functions performed by those components, which will be discussed together below.
for an electric vehicle, the electric vehicle comprising an electric motor, a battery pack and a control unit (CU),
Seo further discloses the electric vehicle and all of its components recited in claim 1, including a battery 48. See Seo ¶¶ 21, 24, 27, 33, 34, and FIG. 1.
the battery pack having a total battery energy,
By definition, battery 48 has a maximum capacity. For example, battery remaining amount image 55c (FIG. 3) indicates the remaining amount of battery 48, and spans from “F” to “E,” with “F” being the maximum. See Seo ¶ 58.
the total battery energy having a predetermined maximum boost energy and anon-boost energy, a sum of the predetermined maximum boost energy and the non-boost energy being equal to the total battery energy of the battery pack, the predetermined maximum boost energy being
The battery 48’s total energy is consumed by both normal travel and boosted travel, at different rates (see Seo ¶¶ 33–35), meaning the total energy in battery 48 is indeed equal to the sum of the amount of energy used for normal travel and for boosted travel. The maximum boost energy in Seo is also predetermined, but it is predetermined with respect to a set of one or more rules, rather than being the same amount for every trip. See Seo ¶ 73.
Importantly, one such rule allows for boosted travel until “battery 48 falls under a predetermined limitation state.” Seo ¶ 73. Taking the rule to its logical conclusion, the total energy of battery 48 is indeed the sum of the maximum available boost energy and whatever energy remains when we reach the limitation state (i.e., if the rider uses boost the entire time from full charge down to the limitation state).
Thus, in this respect, the difference between Seo and the claimed invention is that Seo’s battery 48 only reserves energy for normal travel, while the claimed invention reserves the energy for boosted travel.
the CU controlling an operating torque of the electric motor,
“[T]he travel drive circuit 34 controls a torque, the number of rotations and a rotational direction of the travel power source 30 in accordance with instruction by the control device 61,” and does so “within a range of the maximum energy corresponding to the boost mode [whenever the vehicle is] in the boost mode,” Seo ¶ 47; see also Seo ¶ 41, until “the boost remaining amount becomes 0.” Seo ¶ 89.
the boost system comprising: a manual boost controller,
“The automatic two-wheel vehicle 10 includes a boost switch 44.” Seo ¶ 28.
the manual boost controller being configured to communicate with the CU;
“The control device 61 is connected to . . . the boost switch 44.” Seo ¶ 46.
the CU being configured to determine that the manual boost controller is activated; and
When the driver operates the boost switch 44, “[t]he received instruction is inputted to the control device 61 from . . . the boost switch 44.” Seo ¶ 48.
a boost mode manager
“The control device 61 is a microcomputer including a processor 62 and a storage device 64,” which “stores a software program 65a.” Seo ¶ 45. FIG. 10 illustrates an example of some of the programming for software program 65a. See Seo ¶ 103.
configured to communicate with the CU
“The processor 62 executes an arithmetic operation in accordance with a processing procedure described in the program 64a,” thereby directing the overall circuit of the control device 61 to perform operations (which will be discussed below). Seo ¶ 45.
and the battery pack;
Additionally, “[a] detection result of the various sensors 69 is inputted to the control device 61.” Seo ¶ 51. Those sensors 69 include “a sensor for measuring a remaining amount of the battery 48, a temperature sensor of the battery 48, or a sensor measuring current of a battery or an electrical motor,” among others. Seo ¶ 51.
the boost mode manager being configured to determine a remaining boost energy in response to the manual boost controller being activated, the remaining boost energy being a difference between a predetermined maximum boost energy and a total boost energy used; and
“The normal travel mode and the boost mode are switched via the boost switch 44,” and in response, the control device 61 “executes travel control processing corresponding to the boost mode when the boost mode is set.” Seo ¶ 34. As will be discussed below, Seo’s boost mode processing is the same as the processing performed by the claim boost mode manager.
The program logic calculates a “boost remaining amount” by decrementing the amount of boost used by the driver from an initial “upper limit value.” Seo ¶¶ 87–89; see also Seo ¶ 71 (“The boost remaining amount as the boost limitation condition may be a remaining amount calculated by plural combination of the time, the consumed power amount, consumed current amount, and the temperature”). This is also known as the “boost limitation condition.” Seo ¶ 66.
“The boost output limitation state is determined based on the output of a battery remaining amount sensor 69a, for example. For example, it is assumed that a first reference value and a second reference value larger than the first reference value are previously set. It is determined that the boost cannot be performed when the battery remaining amount is smaller than the predetermined first reference value.” Seo ¶ 105.
the boost mode manager being configured to activate the boost mode and to send a command to the CU to add a boost torque to the operating torque using the remaining boost energy in response to the manual boost controller being activated and in response to a boost enabled condition, the boost enable condition comprising the remaining boost energy being greater than zero.
“The control device 61 . . . executes travel control processing corresponding to the boost mode when the boost mode is set.” Seo ¶ 34. Specifically, based on the logic discussed above, “the travel drive circuit 34 controls a torque, the number of rotations and a rotational direction of the travel power source 30 in accordance with instruction by the control device 61 . . . within a range of the maximum energy corresponding to the boost mode” (rather than the lower range of the normal mode). Seo ¶ 47.
The driver is only allowed to travel in the boost mode until “the boost remaining amount becomes 0.” Seo ¶ 89.
Seo does not appear to explicitly disclose whether its battery pack has a “reserve” for the boost mode, rather than simply operating the boost mode according to a set of rules.
Bagnariol, however, teaches an analogous electric vehicle with an analogous controller for determining when to “boost” the vehicle, wherein:
a sum of the predetermined maximum boost energy and the non-boost energy being equal to the total battery energy of the battery pack, the predetermined maximum boost energy being reserved for a boost mode;
Bagnariol’s karts are equipped with a “boost” button (discussed further below) that “confer[s] a temporary increase in electric power, for example, in the case of an electric kart.” Bagnariol ¶ 102. Whether or not the driver is allowed to use the boost button depends on whether the driver “has a reserve of energy allowing him to activate [the] ‘boost’ effect.” Bagnariol ¶ 10.
the boost mode manager being configured to determine a remaining boost energy in response to the manual boost controller being activated, the remaining boost energy being a difference between a predetermined maximum boost energy and a total boost energy used; and
As shown in FIG. 6, the karting system includes program logic that receives a game command 611, e.g., a “boost” request from activating one of the buttons, see Bagnariol ¶ 149, and makes a decision 66 of whether or not to perform an action 68 (in this example, the “boost”), depending on whether the game command 611 is in accordance with the rules in a rule base 661. Bagnariol ¶¶ 151–152. Much like the claimed invention, the rules can include limitations on the amount of “boost” currently available to the driver. See Bagnariol ¶ 10.
the boost mode manager being configured to activate the boost mode and to send a command to the CU to add a boost torque to the operating torque using the remaining boost energy in response to the manual boost controller being activated and in response to a boost enabled condition, the boost enable condition comprising the remaining boost energy being greater than zero.
“These decisions lead to the transmission (68) of an action, if the decision is favourable, for example to act on the engine power (acceleration or slowdown) via the first network.” Bagnariol ¶ 152.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add or supplement Seo’s boosting conditions with the idea of a general “reserve” of energy in the battery for the boost mode, as taught by Bagnariol. One would have been motivated to use Bagnariol’s boost “reserve” feature because “it could be interesting to offer similar enhancements” as those offered in video games, such as the boost feature, “in certain cases and for certain audiences with real karts, to combine the reality of driving with the gaming aspect.” Bagnariol ¶ 6.
Claim 11
Seo and Bagnariol teach the boost system of claim 10,
wherein the boost system further comprises a human-machine interface (HMI) being configured to communicate with the CU and the battery pack, the HMI being configured to provide a remaining battery estimate.
“The various operation receiving devices 68 are a man-machine interface receiving the operation of the driver, and are a push switch, a slide switch, or a touch panel, for example.” Seo ¶ 50. With respect to the touch panel, Seo further teaches that “[a] display device 50 is disposed around the handle device 40” for “displaying an information image indicating vehicle information.” Seo ¶¶ 25–26. As shown in FIG. 2, it receives information about and from the battery via the control device 61. Consequently, as shown in FIG. 3, the display device 50 is instructed to display “a battery remaining amount image 55c,” which “is an image indicating a remaining amount of the battery 48.” Seo ¶¶ 57–58.
Claim 12
Seo and Bagnariol teach the boost system of claim 11,
wherein the remaining battery estimate comprises a notification of at least one of the remaining boost energy, the predetermined maximum boost energy, and the total boost energy used.
“The control device 61 controls the display of the display device 50 to change a display area of the boost limitation condition information image 57 in accordance with the limitation condition in the boost traveling.” Seo ¶ 75.
Claim 14
Seo and Bagnariol teach the boost system of claim 10, wherein,
in response to the boost enable condition, the boost mode manager is configured to send a command to the CU to add a boost torque to the operating torque for a maximum boost time.
“[T]he travel drive circuit 34 controls a torque, the number of rotations and a rotational direction of the travel power source 30 in accordance with instruction by the control device 61,” and does so “within a range of the maximum energy corresponding to the boost mode [whenever the vehicle is] in the boost mode,” Seo ¶ 47; see also Seo ¶ 41, until “the boost remaining amount becomes 0.” Seo ¶ 89.
Claim 15
Seo and Bagnariol teach the boost system of claim 14,
wherein the boost enable condition further comprises a cooldown between boosts having elapsed.
“In the present embodiment, the control device 61 controls the display of the display device 50 so that the display area of the boost limitation condition information image 57 is increased as the boost limitation condition is eased. A state where the limitation condition is eased indicates that a limitation on the boost traveling is eased, that is, for example, a limitation of a time, an output, a temperature, or a consumed amount limiting the boost is eased. Thus, increase in the boost remaining amount indicates that the limitation condition is eased.” Seo ¶ 76.
Claim 16
Seo and Bagnariol teach the boost system of claim 15,
wherein the boost system further comprises boost controls for setting at least one of a value of the predetermined maximum boost energy,
“[T]he boost remaining amount as an example of the boost limitation condition may be a power amount or a current amount which can be consumed by the boost traveling.” Seo ¶ 69. To control for power or current amount, “[a] maximum value of the power amount or the current amount which can be consumed by the boost traveling can be theoretically, experimentally, and empirically set in consideration of the load on the travel part.” Seo ¶ 69.
a value of the maximum boost time,
Alternatively or additionally, “the boost limitation condition may be a time equal to or shorter than n seconds,” where “[a]n upper limit value of n can be theoretically, experimentally, and empirically set in consideration of the load on the travel part.” Seo ¶ 68.
and a value of the cooldown between boosts.
As yet another alternative or additional boost limitation condition, “[a] maximum value of the temperature which can be increased by the boost traveling is theoretically, experimentally, and empirically set in consideration of the load on the travel part.” Seo ¶ 70.
Notably, Seo further teaches that any number or all of these factors may be considered in furtherance of replenishing the available amount of boost. See Seo ¶ 76.
Claim 17
Seo and Bagnariol teach the boost system of claim 16, wherein the boost controls comprise:
a non-transitory computer readable storage medium for storing thereon the value of the predetermined maximum boost energy, the value of the maximum boost time, and the value of the cooldown between boosts, the non-transitory computer readable storage medium being accessible by the CU.
Control device 61 includes a storage device 64, which “is a non-volatile memory such as a flash memory. The storage device 64 stores a software program 64a. The processor 62 executes an arithmetic operation in accordance with a processing procedure described in the program 64a, thus processing of controlling the display on the display device 50 is executed as described [in Seo’s disclosure].” Seo ¶ 45.
Claim 18
Seo and Bagnariol teach the boost system of claim 10,
wherein adding the boost torque to the operating torque comprises switching from a first torque profile to a second torque profile, the second torque profile having a higher torque than the first torque profile for a corresponding position of an accelerator pedal of the electric vehicle.
“Such a boost traveling may indicate a state where output characteristics are changed so that an acceleration performance is increased compared with the normal traveling. The output may be larger in the boost traveling than in the normal traveling even when the throttle operation amount is the same. An output change may be larger in the boost traveling than in the normal traveling even when a time change in which the throttle operation amount is increased is the same. The maximum energy in the boost mode may be energy per unit time in the boost mode or an accumulated value of energy stored in a period of the boost mode.” Seo ¶ 38.
Regarding the “position of the accelerator pedal” limitation, claim 18 is not directed to a vehicle comprising an accelerator pedal, so the prior art does not need to disclose an accelerator pedal to anticipate the claim. Instead, claim 18 merely requires a second torque profile that provides a higher amount of torque for every possible amount of throttle input provided, which is what Seo teaches for the reasons given above.
Claims 19 and 20
Claims 19 and 20 are directed to the same method that the boost system of claims 10 and 18 necessarily performs as part of its normal operation. “Under the principles of inherency, if a prior art device, in its normal and usual operation, would necessarily perform the method claimed, then the method claimed will be considered to be anticipated by the prior art device.” MPEP § 2112.02. Therefore, claims 19 and 20 are rejected over the same findings and rationale as provided above for claims 10 and 18.
II. Seo, Bagnariol, and Duan teach claim 13.
Claim(s) 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Seo and Bagnariol as applied to claim 10 above, and further in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2022/0363162 A1 (“Duan”).
Claim 13
Seo teaches the boost system of claim 10, and further teaches that its boost torque is within a predetermined range above zero that is greater than normal travel, see Seo ¶ 47, but does not explicitly disclose a particular percentage of maximum torque for the boost.
Duan, however, teaches a vehicle which, much like Seo and the claimed invention, “may selectively activate a boosted mode (e.g., a ‘maximum power’ mode) for a limited duration in response to driver inputs.” Duan ¶ 31.
Duan further teaches an algorithm that limits the amount of boosting to reduce wear on the vehicle, but notably, in all cases where boosting is still allowed, the torque limit of the boost remains at values above 10% of the maximum torque: “For example, torque may be limited to a first amount (e.g., reduced to 80% of a maximum during boosted operation) if the remaining lifetime is below a first threshold, limited to a second amount (e.g., reduced to 60% of the maximum) if the remaining lifetime is below a second threshold, etc.” Duan ¶ 71.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program Seo’s controller to use any of the percentages of maximum torque suggested in Duan’s disclosure when activating the boost travel mode. One would have been motivated to follow Duan’s percentages for maximum torque because those percentages provide an ideal balance between the utility of the boosted mode on one hand, and the potential wear on the vehicle’s components on the other hand. See Duan ¶¶ 31–32.
Conclusion
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.
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Justin R. Blaufeld
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2151
/Justin R. Blaufeld/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2151
1 Effectively filed October 4, 2022 via foreign priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-160499 (published as JP 2024-53958 A).
2 Interestingly, in addition to its guidance about obviousness in general, it is notable that underlying obviousness question in KSR explicitly concerned the obviousness of a pedal-controlled throttle. See id. at 406.
Prosecution Insights