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 .
Claims 1 – 2, 4 – 7 remain pending in the 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.
Claim(s) 1 – 2, 4 – 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hirao et al. (US 2020/023705).
Regarding Claim 1:
Hirao et al. teaches a vehicle control apparatus (10) mounted on a vehicle, the vehicle including an actuator apparatus (7) provided between a vehicle body (1) and a wheel (2) of a vehicle and configured to change a force for suppressing a relative displacement (via 4, 5, 6) between the vehicle body and the wheel, a road surface displacement detection portion (8) configured to detect road surface displacement information in a traveling direction of the vehicle, and a vehicle speed information output portion (3) configured to output vehicle speed information of the vehicle, the vehicle control apparatus being configured to control the actuator apparatus, the vehicle control apparatus comprising: a road surface displacement information reception portion (11) configured to receive an input of the road surface displacement information; a vehicle speed information reception portion (12) configured to receive an input of the vehicle speed information; and a memory (10a) configured to record the input road surface displacement information, wherein the vehicle control apparatus records the road surface displacement information into the memory for each predetermined distance by which the vehicle moves based on the vehicle speed information and a sampling time (paragraph 0055) and also determines wheel position road surface displacement information (via 9) corresponding to a position of the wheel based on the road surface displacement information recorded in the memory, and outputs an actuator instruction value for causing the actuator apparatus to perform a predetermined operation according to the wheel position road surface displacement information (via 26, and see paragraph 0019), and wherein the predetermined distance based on which the road surface displacement information is recorded into the memory can be changed to be a shorter interval when a road surface is highly uneven compared to when the road surface is less uneven (Figs 5 – 6, paragraphs 0045 – 0061).
Regarding Claim 2:
Hirao et al. teaches the predetermined distance based on which the road surface displacement information is recorded into the memory is changed according to an environment surrounding the vehicle (Figs 2 – 3).
Regarding Claim 6:
Hirao et al. teaches the road surface displacement information for each predetermined distance by which the vehicle moves is recorded into the memory when a movement speed of the vehicle is equal to or lower than a predetermined speed (Figs 5 – 6).
Regarding Claim 7:
See the rejection of Claim 1 above.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4 – 5 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 filed December 17, 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
On Page 4 of the Remarks, the Applicant argues that Hirao et al. does not teach the vehicle control apparatus records the road surface displacement information into the memory for each predetermined distance by which the vehicle moves based on the vehicle speed information and a sampling time.” The Examiner disagrees and maintains the rejection because Hirao et al. teaches in paragraph 0055 a camera 8 that conducts a simulation of running on the road surface twenty times as fast as real time corresponding to a predetermined time (corresponding to one running event during a sampling time per which the road surface data is updated). Paragraph 0022 of Hirao et al. describes a memory 10A that stores the road surface preview information ahead of the vehicle that is imaged by the camera device 8 in an updatable manner. The camera device of Hirao et al. is a well known recording medium, and the memory and controller described by Hirao et al. uses speed detected, recorded images, real time sampling of the road condition, to further simulate an upcoming or preview road characteristic, which reads on the limitation of the claim.
On Pages 6 and 7 of the Remarks, the Applicant argues that Hirao et al. does not teach the limitation requiring “the predetermined distance based on which the road surface displacement information is recorded into the memory can be changed to be a shorter interval when a road surface is highly uneven compared to when the road surface is less uneven.” The Examiner disagrees and maintains the rejection. Hirao et al. describes in paragraph 0039 the camera device can detect the distance. Memory 10A is used to record the memory. Figs 5 – 6, paragraphs 0045 – 0061 of Hirao et al. further describe the process of changing and updated the memory of the road surface in real time, of which Fig 5 specially shows the changing time periods based on vehicle speed and road waviness conditions.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 LONG T TRAN whose telephone number is (571)270-1899. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri 9:00 - 5:00.
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/LONG T TRAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3747