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 .
Drawings
New corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121 (d) are required in this application because Figure 2 shows only generic flow charts with no information presented in each element of the chart. Applicants' invention is unclear from the drawings because a number of methods may fit the same flow diagram. Applicant is advised to employ the services of a competent patent draftsperson outside the Office, as the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office no longer prepares new drawings. The corrected drawings are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The requirement for corrected drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Examiner Comment
Examiner evaluated all IDS and “X” references from German foreign priority application and found those references to not be anticipatory to the US claims as filed 5/10/24 as they lack release of the brake pedal as a condition to override emergency braking intervention.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
Claim(s) 1-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Qiao et al US 2019/0092292.
IN Re 1-9, Qiao teaches
1. A control device for operating an emergency braking assistant for a motor vehicle (title), the control device (abstract fig 2) comprising:
a processor (204); and
a memory (222) in communication with the processor and storing instructions (fig 1) executable by the processor to configure the control device to:
activate a braking intervention (109) of the emergency braking assistant, wherein the emergency braking assistant is configured to bring the motor vehicle to a standstill automatically via the braking intervention during an imminent collision with an object (para 3);
detect an actuation of a brake pedal (108 yes) of the motor vehicle before (108 before 109) or during (note closed loop control of fig 1 with steps 102-104 looping back to start) the activated braking intervention;
detect a release of the brake pedal (108 no) after (108 no after 109 yes 110 no 108 yes) the detected actuation of the brake pedal and during the activated braking intervention;
detect an actuation of an accelerator pedal (110 yes) after (110 after 108 and 109) the detected release of the brake pedal; and
override and/or abort (override and or abort taken as equivalents, see step 112) the activated braking intervention due to (112 follows 110 yes) the detected actuation of the accelerator pedal (at least all figs and paras)(note closed loop logical flow of fig 1 as follows: 108 yes to start, 109 yes, 110 no to start, 108 yes to start, 108 no, 110 yes, 112).
2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the memory further comprises instructions executable by the processor to further configure the control device to: override and/or abort the activated braking intervention due to the detected actuation of the accelerator pedal if the accelerator pedal has been detected within a predetermined time interval (abstract) after the detected release of the brake pedal.
3. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the memory further comprises instructions executable by the processor to further configure the control device to: during the override and/or abort of the braking intervention of the emergency braking assistant: consider a latency time (construed as para 24 especially but not limited to “driver whiplash detection inhibits the override of the rear automatic braking system for a short period of time” and “the method waits a pre-determined time after the rear deceleration has begun and in other embodiments after the rear deceleration has stopped before allowing the rear automatic braking system to by overridden.”) between a first point in time at which the braking intervention has been activated and a second point in time at which braking of the motor vehicle by the activated braking intervention takes place and/or is implemented perceptibly for a driver (see mapping above).
4. The control device according to claim 3, wherein the memory further comprises instructions executable by the processor to further configure the control device to: begin a predetermined time interval as soon as the latency time has ended and the release of the brake pedal has been detected (abstract in conjunction with fig 2 and paras 22,24); and override and/or abort the activated braking intervention due to the detected actuation of the accelerator pedal if the accelerator pedal has been detected within the predetermined time interval (abstract in conjunction with fig 2 and paras 22,24).
5. The control device according to claim 3, wherein the memory further comprises instructions executable by the processor to further configure the control device to: receive a sensor signal (fig 2 sensors) of a vehicle sensor system of the motor vehicle when the braking of the motor vehicle is implemented perceptibly for a driver by the activated braking intervention; and define the second point in time depending on the received sensor signal (para 24 “as shown in FIG. 1, the sensing of the position of the accelerator pedal includes the detection of a rearward deceleration by the vehicle. If that rearward deceleration is greater than an empirically determined threshold, the method waits a pre-determined time after the rear deceleration has begun.”)
6. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the memory further comprises instructions executable by the processor to further configure the control device to: detect the actuation of the accelerator pedal due to exceeding of a predetermined accelerator pedal angle (abstract, para 31 including throttle position sensor output including an angle, paras 22-23 ) and/or accelerator pedal gradient (rate of change para 22) of the accelerator pedal.
7. A motor vehicle (para 2) comprising: the control device of claim 1.
8. A method for operating an emergency braking assistant for a motor vehicle, comprising: activating a braking intervention of the emergency braking assistant; bringing the motor vehicle to a standstill due (para 24 “and in other embodiments after the rear deceleration has stopped before allowing the rear automatic braking system to by overridden.”) to the braking intervention in an automated manner during an imminent collision with an object; detecting an actuation of a brake pedal of the motor vehicle before or during the activated braking intervention; detecting a release of the brake pedal after the detected actuation of the brake pedal and during the activated braking intervention; detecting an actuation of an accelerator pedal after the detected release of the brake pedal; and overriding and/or aborting the activated braking intervention due to the detected actuation of the accelerator pedal (see in re 1 as described above over Qiao, including same closed loop logic of fig 1 except with brake intervention completed to standstill).
9. A non-transitory computer-readable medium (222) comprising instructions operable, when executed by one or more computing systems, to: activate a braking intervention of an emergency braking assistant of a motor vehicle; bring the motor vehicle to a standstill due to the braking intervention in an automated manner during an imminent collision with an object; detect an actuation of a brake pedal of the motor vehicle before or during the activated braking intervention; detect a release of the brake pedal after the detected actuation of the brake pedal and during the activated braking intervention; detect an actuation of an accelerator pedal after the detected release of the brake pedal; and override and/or aborting the activated braking intervention due to the detected actuation of the accelerator pedal (see in re 8 as described above over Qiao).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CARL C STAUBACH whose telephone number is (571)272-3748. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
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/CARL C STAUBACH/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3747