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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 8/6/24 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-16 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "a setting manipulated variable" in line 5. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 16 recites the limitation "a setting manipulated variable" in line 8. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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.
Claim(s) 1-13, and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Fischer (US 2010/0252368).
Regarding claim 1,
Fischer discloses (Fig. 1a):
A method for the standstill control of a drive body (Fig. 1a, 2, 5) on which a friction force acts (FN, ¶0082-¶0083), a setting manipulated variable being determined and converted, utilizing by means of an actuator (4), into a drive force acting on the drive body in order to bring the drive body to a standstill and/or to keep it at a standstill (¶0078), wherein a setting manipulated variable is determined for the drive body to be brought to a standstill or for the drive body that has been brought to a standstill or for the drive body that is held at a standstill (sliding friction, ¶0086), which setting manipulated variable alone results in a drive force that does not overcome said friction force using braking device 24.1, 24.2, Fig. 9, ¶0104-¶0105), wherein an activation manipulated variable is specified and the determined setting manipulated variable is changed by the activation manipulated variable to a relaxation manipulated variable, and wherein the relaxation manipulated variable is converted, utilizing by means of the actuator, into a relaxation drive force acting on the drive body for moving the drive body, the activation manipulated variable being specified such that the relaxation drive force at least temporarily overcomes the friction force acting on the drive body during the standstill control (¶0104-¶0106).
Regarding claim 2,
Fischer discloses (Fig. 1a):
wherein characterized in that the setting manipulated variable is determined utilizing by means of a controller from a deviation between at least one movement variable of the drive body and a standstill set point specified for the at least one movement variable (¶0095-¶0096), in order to set the at least one movement variable of the drive body to the specified standstill set point, or wherein in that the setting manipulated variable is determined utilizing by means of a control system from a standstill set point specified for the at least one movement variable, without taking the at least one movement variable into account when determining the setting manipulated variable (¶0093-¶0095).
Regarding claim 3,
Fischer discloses (Fig. 1a):
wherein a movement of the drive body resulting from the relaxation drive force leads to a deviation of the at least one movement variable from the standstill set point specified for it, which, during the standstill control, does not exceed a specified maximum deviation of 10% of a value of the specified standstill set point or 5% of a value of the specified standstill set point or 1% of a value of the specified standstill set point or 0.5% of a value of the specified standstill set point (¶0097-¶0099).
Regarding claim 4,
Fischer discloses (Fig. 1a):
wherein the friction force acting on the drive body is caused by a static friction or a sliding friction or a rolling friction or a combination of the static friction, rolling friction, and sliding friction (sliding friction and static friction, ¶0096-¶0097).
Regarding claim 5,
Fischer discloses (Fig. 1a):
wherein the activation manipulated variable is only determined and used to change the setting manipulated variable when the drive body has been held at a standstill for a specified minimum standstill period (¶0100-¶0102).
Regarding claim 6,
Fischer discloses (Fig. 1a):
wherein the activation manipulated variable is determined in the form of a periodic signal with a specified activation amplitude and/or a specified activation frequency (activated from signal from controller, 11, ¶0101).
Regarding claim 7,
Fischer discloses (Fig. 1a):
wherein the activation manipulated variable is used for a specified activation time period to change the setting manipulated variable (¶0101-¶0102).
Regarding claim 8,
Fischer discloses (Fig. 1a):
wherein a time average value of the activation manipulated variable corresponds to the value zero (¶0083).
Regarding claim 9,
Fischer discloses (Fig. 1a):
wherein a position of the drive body is determined as a movement variable of the drive body, and a target position for the determined position is specified as a standstill set point, or wherein in that a speed of the drive body is determined as a movement variable of the drive body, and a vanishing target speed for the determined speed is specified as a standstill set point (¶0082-¶0085).
Regarding claim 10,
Fischer discloses (Fig. 1a):
wherein a position of the drive body is determined as a movement variable of the drive body, and a target position for the determined position is specified as a standstill set point, and wherein the activation manipulated variable is only determined and used to change the setting manipulated variable if a magnitude of a position deviation between the position of the drive body and the specified target position when the drive body is at a standstill is above a specified deviation threshold value (¶0100-¶0102).
Regarding claim 11,
Fischer discloses (Fig. 1a):
wherein the sign of the activation manipulated variable is selected as a sign opposite to the sign of the position deviation or as a sign corresponding to the sign of the position deviation (¶0101)
Regarding claim 12,
Fischer discloses (Fig. 1a):
wherein the change in the setting manipulated variable by the activation manipulated variable is terminated as soon as the magnitude of the position deviation falls below the specified deviation threshold value (¶0101)
Regarding claim 13,
Fischer discloses (Fig. 1a):
wherein the drive body is mechanically coupled to a number n of further bodies on each of which a friction acts, in particular to a coupling body on which a friction acts, and forms an oscillating multi-body system with at least n resonance frequencies with the number n of further bodies (multiple brakes, shown in Fig. 9, ¶0104).
Regarding claim 16,
Fischer discloses (Fig. 1a):
A drive system (Fig. 1a) comprising a movable drive body (2, 5) on which a friction force acts (FN, ¶0082-¶0083), wherein a control unit (11), which, in order to control the standstill of the drive body (¶0078), is configured to determine a setting manipulated variable (sliding friction, ¶0086), and an actuator (4) are provided, the actuator being configured to convert the determined setting manipulated variable into a drive force acting on the drive body in order to bring the drive body to a standstill and/or to keep it at a standstill (using braking device 24.1, 24.2, Fig. 9, ¶0104-¶0105), wherein characterized in that the control unit is further configured designed to determine a setting manipulated variable for the drive body to be brought to a standstill or for the drive body that has been brought to a standstill or for the drive body that is held at a standstill, which setting manipulated variable alone results in a drive force that does not overcome said friction force (¶0104-¶0106),
wherein the control unit is further configured designed to specify an activation manipulated variable and to change the determined setting manipulated variable utilizing the activation manipulated variable to a relaxation manipulated variable (opens brakes, ¶0093), and wherein in that the actuator is further configured designed to convert the relaxation manipulated variable into a relaxation drive force, acting on the drive body, for moving the drive body, the activation manipulated variable being specified such that the relaxation drive force at least temporarily overcomes the friction force acting on the drive body during the standstill control (the normal force overcomes the friction force, ¶0092-¶0093).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 14-15 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Kaufleitner et al. (US 2021/0167713) – safety function
Fischer (US 2010/0252369) – braking device for elevator
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/C.S.L./Examiner, Art Unit 2837 /DAVID LUO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837
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