DETAILED ACTION
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
2. The specification, the abstract and the drawings are all acceptable.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
3. 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.
4. Claims 1-2, 4-5, 11, 14-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by USPN 7,023,168 to Patel.
As to claim 1, Patel teaches a motor control system for determining an operating point for controlling an electric motor in an electric system(col. 4: lines 15-56) having a battery (col. 5: lines 39-41 wherein the DC link is equivalent to the battery) and an electronic control unit(fig. 1A: “22”), the motor control system comprising: a calibrator(fig. 1B: “22 – control module” is equivalent to a calibrator to do the calibrating/control functions) having an input for receiving a battery voltage of the battery(fig. 1B: “Vdc”), a motor speed (fig. 1B: “ωr”) and a requested torque of the electric motor(fig. 1B: “Te*), the calibrator (fig. 1B: “22 – control module” is equivalent to a calibrator to do the calibrating/control functions) calculating a modified speed (fig. 1B: “96 ” wherein a divider is used to calculate the modified speed to generate a control signal) based on the received battery voltage(fig. 1B: “Vdc”), the motor speed (fig. 1B: “ωr”) and the requested torque(fig. 1B: “Te*); and an operating point controller having an input for receiving a fixed battery voltage reference, the modified speed and the requested torque, the operating point controller (fig. 1B: “22 – control module” is a motor controller to calculate/determine the operating point for controlling the electric motor) determining the operating point for controlling the electric motor (fig. 7 & col. 4: lines 15 – col. 5: lines 5 wherein apparatus and method are taught for a motor controller to calculate/determine the operating point for controlling the electric motor) based on the received fixed battery voltage reference(fig. 1B: “Vdc”), the modified speed (fig. 1B: “96 ” wherein a divider is used to calculate the modified speed to generate a control signal) and the requested torque(fig. 1B: “Te*).
As to claim 2, Patel teaches the motor control system according to claim 1, wherein the operating point is defined by a current (Id, Iq) to be applied through each of the phases of the electric motor(see fig. 7 wherein the horizontal coordinate “x-axis” current id and the vertical coordinate current iq define the operating points as shown in fig. 7).
As to claim 4, Patel teaches the motor control system according to claim 1, wherein the electric motor is a brushless alternating current motor(col. 1: lines 15-17 wherein the permanent magnet motor includes but not limit to a brushless AC motor).
As to claim 5, Patel teaches a control system comprising the motor control system according to claim 1, wherein the control system further comprises a power stage control system (fig. 1B: “18 – inverter” is a power stage control system having power controls) connected to the motor control system(fig. 1B: “22”).
As to claim 11, it is rejected as the same reason as claim 1.
As to claim 14, Patel teaches a computer program stored on non-transitory computer readable media and including instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause a computer to carry out the method of claim 11(col. 3: lines 6-12).
As to claim 15, Patel teaches the computer-readable data carrier having stored thereon the computer program of claim 14(col. 3: lines 6-12).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
5. 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 of this title, 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.
6. Claims 7-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over USPN 7,023,168 to Patel, and in view of USPN 10,756,619 to Ordasi.
As to claim 7, Patel teaches the electric system having the control system according to claim 5.
Patel does not teach a mechanical system and an electric system.
Ordasi teaches a mechanical system (fig. 1: “1”, col. 3: lines 39-50) and an electric system(col. 3: lines 50-62).
As to claim 8, Patel teaches the electronic system according to claim 7, wherein the electronic system is an electronic vehicle system(fig. 1 is a vehicle power steering system having an electronic steering controller “7”).
As to claim 9, Patel teaches the electronic system according to claim 7, wherein the electronic system is an electronic power steering system(fig. 1 is a vehicle power steering system).
As to claim 10, Patel teaches a power steering control system used in a vehicle (fig. 1 is a vehicle power steering system).
Allowable Subject Matter
7. Claims 3, 6, 12-13 are objected to as being dependent upon the rejected base claim 1, 11, but could be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claims and any intervening claims for the following reasons: No prior art of record discloses the features as claimed in the noted claims.
8. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter. The non-obvious features are:
In comparison with the closest prior art as cited in this Office action and any previous Office actions, no prior art of record discloses the following features as claimed in the following claim limitations:
As per claim 3: A control loop receiving the determined operating point, and comparing the determined operating point to a measured current and output a voltage (Vd, Vq) request.
As per claim 6: The power stage control system transforms a voltage (Vd, Vq) request received from the motor control system into duty cycles (α) to command switches of a power stage of the electronic control unit.
As per claim 12: Comparing the determined operating point to a measured current and outputting a voltage (Vd, Vq) request.
As per claim 13: Transforming a voltage (Vd, Vq) request into duty cycles (α) and correspondingly commanding switches of a power stage of the electronic control unit.
Conclusion
9. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
USPN 8,427,087 to Yamada discloses a motor control system.
10. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAVID S LUO whose telephone number is (571)270-5251. The examiner can normally be reached 8AM-5PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Eduardo Colon-Santana can be reached at 571-272-2060. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/DAVID LUO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2846