DETAILED ACTION
This action is in response to Applicants’ amendment received on July 24, 2026.
Claims 1-6 are pending in the application.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kakimoto et al. (US PG Pub No. 2021/0394821 A1), hereinafter “Kakimoto”.
Regarding claim 1, Kakimoto discloses a steering control device that is applied to a vehicle steering system (Abstract) having a structure in which a dynamic power transmission path between a steering unit (Fig. 1 (20)) and a turning unit (Fig. 1 (30)) is mechanically separated, the steering unit (Fig. 1 (20)) being configured to be steered by a steering wheel (Fig. 1 (11)) of the vehicle, the steering unit (Fig. 1 (20)) including a steering shaft (Fig. 1 (21)) coupled to the steering wheel (Fig. 1 (11)) of the vehicle, a reaction force motor (Fig. 1 (22)) configured to give a motor torque to the steering shaft (Fig. 1 (21)) so as to give a steering reaction force to the steering wheel (paragraph 10), a stopper mechanism configured to regulate a rotation of the steering shaft in a right-left direction within a regulatory rotation amount (paragraph 28), and an angle sensor configured to detect a rotation angle of the steering shaft (paragraphs 27 and 28) and the turning unit (Fig. 1 (30)) including a turning actuator (Fig. 1 (32)) configured to turn a turning wheel (Fig. (12)) of the vehicle, the steering control device comprising: a processor (Fig. 1 (36)) that controls the steering unit (paragraphs 21, 32), the steering unit (Fig. 1 (20)) using the reaction force motor (Fig. 1 (22)) as a drive source (paragraphs 25-28), the processor (Fig. 1 (36)) being configured to execute: an integrated rotation angle acquisition process of acquiring an integrated rotation angle based on a detection result of the angle sensor (paragraphs 46, 55, 81, 84, 94), the integrated rotation angle being an integrated value of the rotation angle of the steering shaft (paragraph 25-29); and an abnormality determination process of determining whether an abnormality condition is satisfied, based on the integrated rotation angle (Abstract; paragraphs 8-12), the abnormality condition being a condition for detecting an abnormality of the stopper mechanism (paragraphs 24-30), wherein the abnormality determination process includes a process of determining that the abnormality condition is satisfied, when the processor is capable of determining that the integrated rotation angle is out of the regulatory rotation amount (paragraphs 27-32).
Regarding claim 6, Takashima discloses a method of controlling a vehicle steering system (Abstract) having a structure in which a dynamic power transmission path between a steering unit (Fig. 1 (20)) and a turning unit (Fig. 1 (30)) is mechanically separated, the steering unit (Fig. 1 (20)) being configured to be steered by a steering wheel (Fig. 1 (11)) of the vehicle, the steering unit (Fig. 1 (20)) including a steering shaft (Fig. 1 (21)) coupled to the steering wheel (Fig. 1 (11)) of the vehicle, a reaction force motor (Fig. 1 (22)) configured to give a motor torque to the steering shaft (Fig. 1 (21)) so as to give a steering reaction force to the steering wheel (paragraph 10), a stopper mechanism configured to regulate a rotation of the steering shaft in a right-left direction within a regulatory rotation amount (paragraph 28), and an angle sensor configured to detect a rotation angle of the steering shaft (paragraphs 27 and 28), and the turning unit (Fig. 1 (30)) including a turning actuator (Fig. 1 (32)) configured to turn a turning wheel (Fig. (12)) of the vehicle, the method comprising: controlling the steering unit by a processor (paragraphs 21, 32), the steering unit (Fig. 1 (20)) using the reaction force motor (Fig. 1 (22)) as a drive source (paragraphs 25-28), the controlling of the steering unit (Fig. 1 (20)) by the processor (Fig. 1 (36)) including: acquiring an integrated rotation angle based on a detection result of the angle sensor configured to detect a rotation angle of the steering shaft (paragraphs 46, 55, 81, 84, 94), the integrated rotation angle being an integrated value of the rotation angle of the steering shaft (paragraph 25-29); and determining whether an abnormality condition is satisfied, based on the integrated rotation angle (Abstract; paragraphs 8-12), the abnormality condition being a condition for detecting an abnormality of the stopper mechanism configured to regulate a rotation of the steering shaft in a right-left direction within a regulatory rotation amount (paragraphs 24-30), the determining whether the abnormality condition is satisfied including determining that the abnormality condition is satisfied, when the processor is capable of determining that the integrated rotation angle is out of the regulatory rotation amount (paragraphs 27-32).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-5 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
Applicants’ remarks filed on July 24, 2026 have been fully considered but are moot because the arguments do not apply to the current rejection.
Applicants’ amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicants are 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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
Conclusion
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/O.M/Examiner, Art Unit 3747
/LINDSAY M LOW/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3747
