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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election of claims 1-9 in the reply filed on April 3, 2026 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed April 3, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding applicant’s argument that Bremer discloses an adaptive anti-lock brake control system which are used in conjunction with vehicle service brakes and are therefore not vehicle emergency brakes, the examiner disagrees. A recitation of the intended use of the claimed invention must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art in order to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. If the prior art structure is capable of performing the intended use, then it meets the claim. In this case, the anti-lock brakes can be used as emergency brakes or in an emergency so the intended use of the brakes is not able to patentably distinguish between the brakes of the prior art of Bremer and claim 1 of the subject application.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 5, and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and (a)(2) as being anticipated by Bremer (USPN 3,953,080).
Regarding claim 1, Bremer teaches an emergency brake control apparatus for a vehicle train having emergency brakes (figure 1; abstract; column 2, 15-32), the emergency brake control apparatus comprising:
a first speed source arranged to provide a first signal indicative of ground speed of the vehicle train (figure 1, element 12; column 2, line 62-column 3, line 2);
a second speed source arranged to provide a second signal indicative of ground speed of the vehicle train (figure 1, element 12’; column 2, line 62-column 3, line 2);
a vehicle controller arranged to (i) control the emergency brakes based upon the first signal from the first speed source when the first signal is within a predetermined speed tolerance (figure 1, elements 20, 34, 36, 40, 46; column 3, lines 2-27), and (ii) control the emergency brakes based upon the second signal from the second speed source when the first signal from the first speed source is outside of the predetermined speed tolerance (figure 1, elements 20, 34, 36, 40, 46; column 3, line 2 – column 5, line 3).
Regarding claim 5, Bremer teaches an emergency brake control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle controller comprises a brake controller that controls the emergency brakes based upon vehicle ground speed (figure 1, all; column 3, lines 11-62; column 5, lines 35-56).
Regarding claim 9, Bremer teaches an emergency brake control apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising:
a driver alerting device for alerting a vehicle driver of when control of the emergency brakes is switched between the first and second signals (figure 1, elements 66 and 68; column 5, lines 35-68).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-3, 8, and 23-33 are allowed.
Claims 4 and 6-7 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.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Regarding claim 2, the prior art of record fails to teach that the second speed source contains all of a camera, a radar, a Lidar, an inertial measurement unit, and a global-positioning system providing the second signal. Claims 3 and 23-27 contain allowable subject matter based on their dependence on claim 2.
Regarding claim 8, the prior art of record fails to teach wherein the vehicle controller is arranged to activate the emergency brakes, without any vehicle driver intervention, when service brakes are unable to slow down or stop the vehicle train. Claims 28-33 contain allowable subject matter based on their dependence on claim 8.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 4, the prior art of record fails to teach that the first speed source comprises a first wheel sensor coupled to a steering axle of a tractor of the vehicle train and a second wheel sensor coupled to a drive axle of the tractor.
Regarding claim 6, the prior art of record fails to teach a specific button, located in the driver compartment, for enabling the driver to activate the emergency brakes.
Regarding claim 7, the prior art of record fails to teach an autonomous driving system that requests to activate the emergency brakes.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record on PTO-892 and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SUSAN E SCHARPF whose telephone number is (571)270-5304. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 7:30am-4:30pm.
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, Pat Wongwian can be reached at 571-270-5426. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Susan E Scharpf/Examiner, Art Unit 3747
/LINDSAY M LOW/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3747
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