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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
Claims 1-5, 7-11, 13-18 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kulkarni (US 11,485,330) in view of CN 118 124 538 A (hereinafter CN ‘538).
Regarding claims 1, 8 and 14, Kulkarni discloses a trailer controller assembly comprising a force transducer configured to measure a force between a trailer and a towing vehicle, at least one brake controller configured to control at least one brake of the trailer, and a controller communicatively coupled to the force transducer (See claim 1). However, Kulkarni does not teach that the controller is configured to adjust the speed of the trailer based on the measured force. CN ‘538 discloses that the provision of a controller to adjust the speed of the trailer is old and well known in the art.
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Since the prior art references art from the same field of endeavor, the purpose disclosed by CN ‘538 would have been recognized in the pertinent art of Kulkarni. Therefore, it would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to provide the device of Kulkarni with the controller for adjusting the speed of the trailer as taught by CN ‘538.
Regarding claims 2, and 15, Kulkarni as modified discloses the trailer controller comprises at least one wheel speed sensor and at least one independent drive for at least one wheel of the trailer (Col.6, line 63- Col. 45).
Regarding claim 3, 9, 16, Kulkarni as modified discloses the independent drive comprises an electric motor with pulse width modulation (PWM) control (Col.6, line 63- Col. 45).
Regarding claim 4,10, and 17, Kulkarni as modified discloses the trailer controller is configured to use a combination of braking and the independent drive to gradually adjust the speed of the trailer (Col.6, line 63- Col. 45).
Regarding claims 5, 11, and 18 claimed the particular function of the trailer controller whether an inter-trailer force crosses an upper threshold or a lower threshold, it is considered as a matter of mechanical design to choose the suitable control functions depending upon the needs.
Regarding claims 7, 13, and 20, Kulkarni as modified discloses the trailer controller determines a charge rate based on the speed and mass of the trailer to incrementally change the speed of the trailer.
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Claims 6, 12, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kulkarni as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of DE 102022126529 (hereinafter DE ‘529). Kulkarni as modified discloses the trailer controller assembly with the force transducer configured to measure a force between a trailer and a towing vehicle, at least one brake controller configured to control at least one brake of the trailer, and the controller is configured to adjust the speed of the trailer based on the measured force as explained above. DE ‘529 discloses a trailer controller is configured to calculate a target change in speed of the trailer if the inter-trailer force crosses either the upper threshold or the lower threshold to bring the inter-trailer force between the upper threshold and the lower threshold.
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Since the prior art references art from the same field of endeavor, the purpose disclosed by DE ‘529 would have been recognized in the pertinent art of Kulkarni as modified. Therefore, it would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to provide the device of Kulkarni as modified with the trailer controller is configured to calculate a target change in speed of the trailer as taught by DE ‘529.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOHN KWON whose telephone number is (571)272-4846. The examiner can normally be reached M-F; 9A-5P. EST.
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/JOHN KWON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3747 March 20, 2026