DETAILED ACTION
This office action is in response to amendments filed on 08/13/2026. Claims 11, 13- 30 are pending. Claims 1-10 and 12 have been canceled.
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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 11 and 14-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakamura et al. US 11390318 B2 (hereinafter “Nakamura”), in view of Katayama et al. US 20170222578 A1 (Hereinafter “Katayama”).
Regarding Claim 11, Nakamura teaches a motor driving device comprising:
a first position detection sensor (fig. 4, 131) configured to detect a position (Fig. 4, 141) of a motor (Fig. 4, 80) and self- diagnose a defect (Fig. 4, 145);
a second position detection sensor (Fig. 4, 132) configured to detect a position (Fig. 4, 142) of the motor; and
a control unit (Fig. 4, 149 [140]) configured to receive a position signal and a self-diagnosis signal from the first position detection sensor and receive a position signal from the second position detection sensor,
wherein the control unit determines whether the first position detection sensor is normal according to the self-diagnosis signal and, if the first position detection sensor is normal, determines whether the second position detection sensor is defective by using the position signal of the first position detection sensor (Claims 1 & 2), and
Nakamura does not expressly disclose wherein the position signal of the first position detection sensor and the position signal of the second position detection sensor have a predetermined phase difference.
However, Katayama teaches the position signal of the first position detection sensor and the position signal of the second position detection sensor have a predetermined phase difference (Katayama [0031]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the position signal of the first position detection sensor and the position signal of the second position detection sensor have a predetermined phase difference as taught by Katayama, in the control system of Nakamura, for more efficient detection with balanced arrangement of sensors around the motor.
Regarding Claim 14, Nakamura in view Katayama teaches the motor driving device of claim 11, comprising a third position detection sensor configured to detect a position of the motor, wherein position signals of the first position detection sensor, the second position detection sensor, and the third position detection sensor sensors have a phase difference of 120 degrees (Katayama [0031]).
Regarding Claim 15, Nakamura in view Katayama teaches the motor driving device of claim 14, wherein the control unit uses the position signal of the first position detection sensor to determine whether the third position detection sensor is defective (Nakamura Fig. 5, S105), and control the motor if all of the first position detection sensor, the second position detection sensor, and the third position detection sensor are normal (Nakamura Fig. 5, S106 > S113).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 17-30 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
a second Hall sensor having different ASIL (AUTOMOTIVE SAFETY INTEGRITY LEVEL) ratings from the first Hall sensor, and a third Hall sensor; and a control unit configured to receive signals from the first Hall sensor, the second Hall sensor, and the third Hall sensors and control a motor
shifting a phase of a position signal received from the first position detection sensor to a phase of a position signal of a second position detection sensor, if the first position detection sensor is normal; and determining whether the second position detection sensor is defective by comparing the phase of the position signal of the second position detection sensor with the phase of the position signal of the first position detection sensor.
The closest prior art Kim US 11462972 B2 teaches a first sensor unit; a second sensor unit; and a control unit connected to the first sensor unit and the second sensor unit, wherein the first sensor unit includes a first Hall sensor and a second Hall sensor, the first Hall sensor outputs two first output values having different phases, the second Hall sensor outputs two second output values having different phases, the second sensor unit outputs a third position detection value of a rotor, and the control unit compares one of the two first output values with one of the two second output values, compares the two first output values with each other, compares the two second output values with each other, compares a first position detection value of the rotor based on the first output values with a second position detection value of the rotor based on the second output values, and compares at least one of the first position detection value of the rotor and the second position detection value of the rotor with the third position detection value of the rotor output from the second sensor unit to determine whether the rotor and the sensors are abnormal.
Claims 13 & 16 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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Aoyagi et al. US 20200412284 A1 teaches a difference between a position, of the rotor, detected by the first position sensor and a position, of the rotor, detected by the second position sensor exceeds a threshold value, the determination unit determines whether or not the first position sensor has failed by comparing the position, of the rotor, detected by the first position sensor with the position, of the rotor, estimated from the neutral point voltage of the motor, and determines whether or not the second position sensor has failed by comparing the position, of the rotor, detected by the second position sensor with the position, of the rotor, estimated from the neutral point voltage of the motor.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CORTEZ M COOK whose telephone number is (571)270-7954. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 7:30-5pm.
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/CORTEZ M COOK/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2846
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