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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on August 04, 2026 has been entered.
Status of Claims
This Office Action is in response to the application filed on April 30, 2026. Claims 8 and 10 were previously canceled. Claims 1, 7, and 9 have been amended. Claims 1-7, 9, and 11-22 are presently pending and are presented for examination.
Response to Amendments
In response to Applicant's Amendments dated April 30, 2026, Examiner withdraws the previous statutory type (35 U.S.C. 101) double patenting rejection, the previous specification objections, and the previous prior art rejections. However, Examiner maintains the previous indication of allowable subject matter.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed April 30, 2026 have been fully considered, but they are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejections.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to ATA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis 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 discloses 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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-2, 7, 9, 12, and 18 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Pub. No. 20170015213 (hereinafter, "Terada"; previously of record) in view of U.S. Pub. No. 20110144848 (hereinafter, "Yoshizue"; newly of record).
Regarding claim 1, Terada discloses a motor control method of an electric vehicle, comprising:
detecting a relative deformation of a transmission system between a driving gear and a wheel end of a motor (“relative-position detection means for detecting a relative position between a tooth of an input-side gear and a tooth of an output-side gear included in the speed reducer” (claim 1)),...;
…, the first driving gear rotation speed is a rotation speed of the driving gear at a disengagement moment of the driving gear and the driven gear, and the first wheel end conversion rotation speed is a rotation speed obtained by performing a speed ratio conversion on the wheel end rotation speed of the electric vehicle at the disengagement moment (“a conversion coefficient for converting the rotation angle of the second gear 52 into the rotation angle of the first gear 51 is k(=number of teeth of the second gear 52/number of teeth of the first gear 51). Then, the rotation angle obtained by converting the second rotation angle 02 into the rotation angle of the first gear 51 is k·Θ2” (para 0068) and “The first gear circumferential velocity V1 now is obtained by converting a rotational angular velocity at the current time, which is calculated by time derivative of the first rotation angle Θ1, into the circumferential velocity of the tooth 51 t of the first gear 51, whereas the second gear circumferential velocity V2now is obtained by converting a rotational angular velocity at the current time, which is calculated by time derivative of the second rotation angle Θ2, into the circumferential velocity of the tooth 52 t of the second gear 52” (para 0081));
determining an output torque of the motor according to the first speed difference value; and controlling the driving gear to perform a tooth approaching operation relative to the driven gear according to the output torque (“The gear rattling noise reduction control processing adjusts the motor torque (braking torque or driving torque) in the idling time period from the time of abutment release to the time of re-abutment to perform control so that a moving velocity of the tooth 51 t of the first gear 51 in a circumferential direction becomes closer to that of the tooth 52 t of the second gear 52 in the circumferential direction at the time of re-abutment, thereby reducing the gear rattling noise” (para 0062)).
However, Terada does not explicitly teach
…wherein the relative deformation of the transmission system between the driving gear and the wheel end comprises a gear deformation and an axle deformation;
determining a first speed difference value of a first driving gear rotation speed and a first wheel end conversion rotation speed when the relative deformation is a first threshold, wherein the relative deformation being the first threshold value is used to indicate that the driving gear starts to disengage from a driven gear of the transmission system.
Yoshizue, in the same field of endeavor, teaches
…wherein the relative deformation of the transmission system between the driving gear and the wheel end comprises a gear deformation and an axle deformation (“the drive torsion in the in-wheel motor unit M is the torsion that is inevitably generated by the effects of shaft torsion and gear backlash and the like in the power transmitting path from the motor 1 to the wheel/tire assembly W when the wheel/tire assembly W is driven by output torque from the motor 1 ordinarily” (para 0096));
determining a first speed difference value of a first driving gear rotation speed and a first wheel end conversion rotation speed when the relative deformation is a first threshold (“Then it is determined whether the difference between the detected value from the resolver 3 of the motor 1 and the detected value from the wheel speed sensor 13 of the target wheel/tire assembly W is greater than a threshold value of drive torsion in the in-wheel motor unit M (step S11)” (para 0096)), wherein the relative deformation being the first threshold value is used to indicate that the driving gear starts to disengage from a driven gear of the transmission system (“the abnormality detecting portion includes a first break determining portion which determines that the weak portion is broken when it is determined that …the difference between the rotation speed of the wheel/tire assembly detected by the wheel speed sensor and the rotation speed of the electric motor detected by the rotation speed sensor of the electric motor provided for the wheel/tire assembly exceeds a threshold value that has been set as a determination reference” (claim 15)).
One of ordinary skill in the art, before the time of filing, would have been motivated to modify the disclosure of Terada with the teachings of Yoshizue in order to determine whether the amount of drive torsion generated in the in-wheel motor unit M is an amount that is inevitably generated ordinarily or an abnormal amount; see Yoshizue at least at [0096].
Regarding claim 2, Terada discloses the motor control method according to claim 1. Additionally, Terada discloses wherein the determining the output torque of the motor according to the first speed difference value comprises:
determining a product of the first speed difference value and a first time length as a first product (“The area A is an integrated value obtained by integrating the predicted relative velocity V(=predicted approach velocity) from the current time to an estimated re-abutment time (time at which the predicted relative velocity V becomes zero) by time. The predicted relative velocity V is obtained by adding a predicted relative-velocity change amount (axelapsed time from the current time) to the relative velocity V(=V2−V1) at the current time” (para 0079) and Fig. 7, #A), wherein the first time length is a duration from the disengagement moment to a contact moment of the driving gear and the driven gear (“the motor ECU 80 may set a time period from the time at which the motor torque is reversed in response to the output of the reverse request to a time at which the backlash B becomes equal to a preset first set backlash Bref1 (for example, half the initial backlash B0) as the time period D1 in which the reverse set torque Tn is generated and may set a time period from the end of the time period D1 to a time at which the backlash B becomes equal to a preset second set backlash Bref2 as the time period D2 in which the return set torque Tp is generated” (para 0104) and Fig. 7, #IDLING TIME PERIOD); and
if the first product is less than a preset backlash value (“By the idling, the first gear circumferential velocity V1 decreases with a constant gradient α (see part (a) of FIG. 5). Therefore, a relative velocity V(=V2−V1) between the first gear circumferential velocity V1 and the second gear circumferential velocity V2 increases as expressed as a product (α·tx) of elapsed time tx from the time t1 and the gradient α. Simultaneously, the backlash B decreases” (para 0074)), determining that the output torque comprises a first torque and a second torque, wherein directions of the first torque and the second torque are opposite (“In the gear rattling noise reduction control processing, the motor ECU 80 switches the motor torque from the reverse set torque Tn to a return set torque Tp in the middle of a time period in which the first gear 51 is idling (see part (c) of FIG. 5). The return set torque Tp is a preset constant driving torque that has the same magnitude (absolute value) as the reverse set torque Tn and the direction (sign) opposite to that of the reverse set torque Tn. In the example shown in FIG. 5, at a time t2, the motor torque is switched from the reverse set torque Tn to the return set torque Tp” (para 0075)), the first torque is a required torque in a time interval from the disengagement moment to a transition moment of the motor in an acceleration state and a deceleration state (Fig. 5, #Tn), and the second torque is a required torque in a time interval from the transition moment to the contact moment (Fig. 5, #Tp).
Regarding claim 7, Terada discloses a motor control apparatus of an electric vehicle, comprising:
a processor and a memory in communication connection with the processor; wherein the memory stores computer executable instructions; and the processor, when executing the computer executable instructions stored in the memory (“The motor ECU 80 calculates the initial backlash B0 at arbitrary timing and stores the calculated initial backlash B0 in a memory” (para 0071) and Fig. 1, #80), is configured to:
detect a relative deformation of a transmission system between a driving gear and a wheel end of a motor (“relative-position detection means for detecting a relative position between a tooth of an input-side gear and a tooth of an output-side gear included in the speed reducer” (claim 1)),...;
…, the first driving gear rotation speed is a rotation speed of the driving gear at a disengagement moment of the driving gear and the driven gear, and the first wheel end conversion rotation speed is a rotation speed obtained by performing a speed ratio conversion on the wheel end rotation speed of the electric vehicle at the disengagement moment (“a conversion coefficient for converting the rotation angle of the second gear 52 into the rotation angle of the first gear 51 is k(=number of teeth of the second gear 52/number of teeth of the first gear 51). Then, the rotation angle obtained by converting the second rotation angle 02 into the rotation angle of the first gear 51 is k·Θ2” (para 0068) and “The first gear circumferential velocity V1 now is obtained by converting a rotational angular velocity at the current time, which is calculated by time derivative of the first rotation angle Θ1, into the circumferential velocity of the tooth 51 t of the first gear 51, whereas the second gear circumferential velocity V2now is obtained by converting a rotational angular velocity at the current time, which is calculated by time derivative of the second rotation angle Θ2, into the circumferential velocity of the tooth 52 t of the second gear 52” (para 0081));
determine an output torque of the motor according to the first speed difference value; and control the driving gear to perform a tooth approaching operation relative to the driven gear according to the output torque (“The gear rattling noise reduction control processing adjusts the motor torque (braking torque or driving torque) in the idling time period from the time of abutment release to the time of re-abutment to perform control so that a moving velocity of the tooth 51 t of the first gear 51 in a circumferential direction becomes closer to that of the tooth 52 t of the second gear 52 in the circumferential direction at the time of re-abutment, thereby reducing the gear rattling noise” (para 0062)).
However, Terada does not explicitly teach
…wherein the relative deformation of the transmission system between the driving gear and the wheel end comprises a gear deformation and an axle deformation;
determine a first speed difference value of a first driving gear rotation speed and a first wheel end conversion rotation speed when the relative deformation is a first threshold, wherein the relative deformation being the first threshold value is used to indicate that the driving gear starts to disengage from a driven gear of the transmission system.
Yoshizue, in the same field of endeavor, teaches
…wherein the relative deformation of the transmission system between the driving gear and the wheel end comprises a gear deformation and an axle deformation (“the drive torsion in the in-wheel motor unit M is the torsion that is inevitably generated by the effects of shaft torsion and gear backlash and the like in the power transmitting path from the motor 1 to the wheel/tire assembly W when the wheel/tire assembly W is driven by output torque from the motor 1 ordinarily” (para 0096));
determine a first speed difference value of a first driving gear rotation speed and a first wheel end conversion rotation speed when the relative deformation is a first threshold (“Then it is determined whether the difference between the detected value from the resolver 3 of the motor 1 and the detected value from the wheel speed sensor 13 of the target wheel/tire assembly W is greater than a threshold value of drive torsion in the in-wheel motor unit M (step S11)” (para 0096)), wherein the relative deformation being the first threshold value is used to indicate that the driving gear starts to disengage from a driven gear of the transmission system (“the abnormality detecting portion includes a first break determining portion which determines that the weak portion is broken when it is determined that …the difference between the rotation speed of the wheel/tire assembly detected by the wheel speed sensor and the rotation speed of the electric motor detected by the rotation speed sensor of the electric motor provided for the wheel/tire assembly exceeds a threshold value that has been set as a determination reference” (claim 15)).
One of ordinary skill in the art, before the time of filing, would have been motivated to modify the disclosure of Terada with the teachings of Yoshizue in order to determine whether the amount of drive torsion generated in the in-wheel motor unit M is an amount that is inevitably generated ordinarily or an abnormal amount; see Yoshizue at least at [0096].
Regarding claim 9, Terada discloses a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer executable instructions stored therein, wherein a processor (“The motor ECU 80 calculates the initial backlash B0 at arbitrary timing and stores the calculated initial backlash B0 in a memory” (para 0071) and Fig. 1, #80), when executing the computer executable instructions is configured to:
detect a relative deformation of a transmission system between a driving gear and a wheel end of a motor (“the motor drive control device comprising: relative-position detection means for detecting a relative position between a tooth of an input-side gear and a tooth of an output-side gear included in the speed reducer” (claim 1)),...;
…, the first driving gear rotation speed is a rotation speed of the driving gear at a disengagement moment of the driving gear and the driven gear, and the first wheel end conversion rotation speed is a rotation speed obtained by performing a speed ratio conversion on the wheel end rotation speed of the electric vehicle at the disengagement moment (“a conversion coefficient for converting the rotation angle of the second gear 52 into the rotation angle of the first gear 51 is k(=number of teeth of the second gear 52/number of teeth of the first gear 51). Then, the rotation angle obtained by converting the second rotation angle 02 into the rotation angle of the first gear 51 is k·Θ2” (para 0068) and “The first gear circumferential velocity V1 now is obtained by converting a rotational angular velocity at the current time, which is calculated by time derivative of the first rotation angle Θ1, into the circumferential velocity of the tooth 51 t of the first gear 51, whereas the second gear circumferential velocity V2now is obtained by converting a rotational angular velocity at the current time, which is calculated by time derivative of the second rotation angle Θ2, into the circumferential velocity of the tooth 52 t of the second gear 52” (para 0081));
determine an output torque of the motor according to the first speed difference value; and control the driving gear to perform a tooth approaching operation relative to the driven gear according to the output torque (“The gear rattling noise reduction control processing adjusts the motor torque (braking torque or driving torque) in the idling time period from the time of abutment release to the time of re-abutment to perform control so that a moving velocity of the tooth 51 t of the first gear 51 in a circumferential direction becomes closer to that of the tooth 52 t of the second gear 52 in the circumferential direction at the time of re-abutment, thereby reducing the gear rattling noise” (para 0062)).
However, Terada does not explicitly teach
…wherein the relative deformation of the transmission system between the driving gear and the wheel end comprises a gear deformation and an axle deformation;
determine a first speed difference value of a first driving gear rotation speed and a first wheel end conversion rotation speed when the relative deformation is a first threshold, wherein the relative deformation being the first threshold value is used to indicate that the driving gear starts to disengage from a driven gear of the transmission system.
Yoshizue, in the same field of endeavor, teaches
…wherein the relative deformation of the transmission system between the driving gear and the wheel end comprises a gear deformation and an axle deformation (“the drive torsion in the in-wheel motor unit M is the torsion that is inevitably generated by the effects of shaft torsion and gear backlash and the like in the power transmitting path from the motor 1 to the wheel/tire assembly W when the wheel/tire assembly W is driven by output torque from the motor 1 ordinarily” (para 0096));
determine a first speed difference value of a first driving gear rotation speed and a first wheel end conversion rotation speed when the relative deformation is a first threshold (“Then it is determined whether the difference between the detected value from the resolver 3 of the motor 1 and the detected value from the wheel speed sensor 13 of the target wheel/tire assembly W is greater than a threshold value of drive torsion in the in-wheel motor unit M (step S11)” (para 0096)), wherein the relative deformation being the first threshold value is used to indicate that the driving gear starts to disengage from a driven gear of the transmission system (“the abnormality detecting portion includes a first break determining portion which determines that the weak portion is broken when it is determined that …the difference between the rotation speed of the wheel/tire assembly detected by the wheel speed sensor and the rotation speed of the electric motor detected by the rotation speed sensor of the electric motor provided for the wheel/tire assembly exceeds a threshold value that has been set as a determination reference” (claim 15)).
One of ordinary skill in the art, before the time of filing, would have been motivated to modify the disclosure of Terada with the teachings of Yoshizue in order to determine whether the amount of drive torsion generated in the in-wheel motor unit M is an amount that is inevitably generated ordinarily or an abnormal amount; see Yoshizue at least at [0096].
Regarding claim 12, Terada discloses the motor control apparatus according to claim 7. Additionally, Terada discloses wherein the processor is configured to:
determine a product of the first speed difference value and a first time length as a first product (“The area A is an integrated value obtained by integrating the predicted relative velocity V(=predicted approach velocity) from the current time to an estimated re-abutment time (time at which the predicted relative velocity V becomes zero) by time. The predicted relative velocity V is obtained by adding a predicted relative-velocity change amount (axelapsed time from the current time) to the relative velocity V(=V2−V1) at the current time” (para 0079) and Fig. 7, #A), wherein the first time length is a duration from the disengagement moment to a contact moment of the driving gear and the driven gear (“the motor ECU 80 may set a time period from the time at which the motor torque is reversed in response to the output of the reverse request to a time at which the backlash B becomes equal to a preset first set backlash Bref1 (for example, half the initial backlash B0) as the time period D1 in which the reverse set torque Tn is generated and may set a time period from the end of the time period D1 to a time at which the backlash B becomes equal to a preset second set backlash Bref2 as the time period D2 in which the return set torque Tp is generated” (para 0104) and Fig. 7, #IDLING TIME PERIOD); and
if the first product is less than a preset backlash value (“By the idling, the first gear circumferential velocity V1 decreases with a constant gradient α (see part (a) of FIG. 5). Therefore, a relative velocity V(=V2−V1) between the first gear circumferential velocity V1 and the second gear circumferential velocity V2 increases as expressed as a product (α·tx) of elapsed time tx from the time t1 and the gradient α. Simultaneously, the backlash B decreases” (para 0074)), determine that the output torque comprises a first torque and a second torque, wherein directions of the first torque and the second torque are opposite (“In the gear rattling noise reduction control processing, the motor ECU 80 switches the motor torque from the reverse set torque Tn to a return set torque Tp in the middle of a time period in which the first gear 51 is idling (see part (c) of FIG. 5). The return set torque Tp is a preset constant driving torque that has the same magnitude (absolute value) as the reverse set torque Tn and the direction (sign) opposite to that of the reverse set torque Tn. In the example shown in FIG. 5, at a time t2, the motor torque is switched from the reverse set torque Tn to the return set torque Tp” (para 0075)), the first torque is a required torque in a time interval from the disengagement moment to a transition moment of the motor in an acceleration state and a deceleration state (Fig. 5, #Tn), and the second torque is a required torque in a time interval from the transition moment to the contact moment (Fig. 5, #Tp).
Regarding claim 18, Terada discloses the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 9. Additionally, Terada discloses wherein the processor is configured to:
determine a product of the first speed difference value and a first time length as a first product (“The area A is an integrated value obtained by integrating the predicted relative velocity V(=predicted approach velocity) from the current time to an estimated re-abutment time (time at which the predicted relative velocity V becomes zero) by time. The predicted relative velocity V is obtained by adding a predicted relative-velocity change amount (axelapsed time from the current time) to the relative velocity V(=V2−V1) at the current time” (para 0079) and Fig. 7, #A), wherein the first time length is a duration from the disengagement moment to a contact moment of the driving gear and the driven gear (“the motor ECU 80 may set a time period from the time at which the motor torque is reversed in response to the output of the reverse request to a time at which the backlash B becomes equal to a preset first set backlash Bref1 (for example, half the initial backlash B0) as the time period D1 in which the reverse set torque Tn is generated and may set a time period from the end of the time period D1 to a time at which the backlash B becomes equal to a preset second set backlash Bref2 as the time period D2 in which the return set torque Tp is generated” (para 0104) and Fig. 7, #IDLING TIME PERIOD); and
if the first product is less than a preset backlash value (“By the idling, the first gear circumferential velocity V1 decreases with a constant gradient α (see part (a) of FIG. 5). Therefore, a relative velocity V(=V2−V1) between the first gear circumferential velocity V1 and the second gear circumferential velocity V2 increases as expressed as a product (α·tx) of elapsed time tx from the time t1 and the gradient α. Simultaneously, the backlash B decreases” (para 0074)), determine that the output torque comprises a first torque and a second torque, wherein directions of the first torque and the second torque are opposite (“In the gear rattling noise reduction control processing, the motor ECU 80 switches the motor torque from the reverse set torque Tn to a return set torque Tp in the middle of a time period in which the first gear 51 is idling (see part (c) of FIG. 5). The return set torque Tp is a preset constant driving torque that has the same magnitude (absolute value) as the reverse set torque Tn and the direction (sign) opposite to that of the reverse set torque Tn. In the example shown in FIG. 5, at a time t2, the motor torque is switched from the reverse set torque Tn to the return set torque Tp” (para 0075)), the first torque is a required torque in a time interval from the disengagement moment to a transition moment of the motor in an acceleration state and a deceleration state (Fig. 5, #Tn), and the second torque is a required torque in a time interval from the transition moment to the contact moment (Fig. 5, #Tp).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-6, 11, 13-17, and 19-22 are objected to as depending on a rejected claim but may be found allowable if re-written in independent form including all intervening claims. Reasons for indicating allowable subject matter will be provided once one or more claims is in a state of allowance.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ADAM ALHARBI whose telephone number is (313)446-6621. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 11:00AM – 7:30PM EST.
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, Abby Flynn can be reached on (571) 272-9855. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see https://ppair-my.uspto.gov/pair/PrivatePair. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/ADAM M ALHARBI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3663
