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 .
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 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.
Status of Claims
This Office Action is in response to the Applicant’s Response dated 4/10/2026. Claims 1-5 are presently pending and are presented for examination.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55. All pending claims therefore have an effective filing date of 7/13/2023.
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s amendments, see page 7 of 14, filed 4/10/2026, with respect to specification objections and 112(b) rejections of record have been fully considered and are persuasive. The specification objections and 112(b) rejections of record have been withdrawn.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 8-13 of 14, filed 4/10/2026, with respect to claim 1 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. Claim 1 is now rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakagawa et al. (US-2019/0299786; hereinafter Nakagawa; already of record) in view of Katayose et al. (US-6,027,183; hereinafter Katayose) and Ueno (US-2016/0031326).
A detailed rejection follows below.
Claim Objections
Claim 5 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 5 as currently presented states “…the amount of pressure decrease…” which the Examiner recommends updating to instead state “… an amount of pressure decrease…” so as to avoid potential misinterpretation.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b), as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
The claims as presented currently state the following:
“…a flow of the pressure medium to the friction brake mechanism of the first wheel…” (claim 1; pressure pertaining to the first wheel);
“…the flow of the pressure medium to the friction brake mechanism of the first wheel…” (claim 2; pressure pertaining to the first wheel);
“…the flow of the pressure medium to the friction brake mechanism of the first wheel…” (claim 3; pressure pertaining to the first wheel);
“…the flow of the pressure medium to the friction brake mechanism of the first wheel…” (claim 5; pressure pertaining to the first wheel);
“…a pressure of the pressure medium…to the friction brake mechanism of other wheels of the plurality of wheels…the pressure of the pressure medium sent to the other wheels…the increase of the pressure of the pressure medium…increase the pressure of the pressure medium…” (claim 1; pressure pertaining to the other wheels of the plurality of wheels);
“…the pressure of the pressure medium sent to the other wheels of the plurality of wheels…” (claim 3; pressure pertaining to the other wheels of the plurality of wheels);
“…the pressure of the pressure medium sent to the other wheels of the plurality of wheels…” (claim 4; pressure pertaining to the other wheels of the plurality of wheels).
According to the above, the following claims include limitations that are indefinite because it is not clear which pressure is of focus, be it the pressure pertaining to the first wheel, or the pressure(s) pertaining to the other wheels of the plurality of wheels:
“…an increase in the pressure of the pressure medium…” (claim 1; indefinite);
“…the pressure of the pressure medium…the pressure of the pressure medium…the pressure of the pressure medium…” (claim 2; indefinite);
“…the pressure of the pressure medium…” (claim 5; indefinite);
Claims 3-4 are also rejected since the claims are dependent on a previously rejected claim.
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.
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:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1 and 3-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakagawa et al. (US-2019/0299786; hereinafter Nakagawa; already of record) in view of Katayose et al. (US-6,027,183; hereinafter Katayose) and Ueno (US-2016/0031326).
Regarding claim 1, Nakagawa discloses a vehicle control system (see Nakagawa at least Abs) comprising:
…
…
control an operation of a rotating electric machine configured to transmit and receive torque to and from a plurality of wheels of a vehicle (see Nakagawa at least [0020]-[0021] "FIG. 1 schematically shows a vehicle including a vehicle braking system BS according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle includes a driving motor 10, which is an example of a driving source of the vehicle, and a driving control device 11 that controls the drive of the driving motor 10. Furthermore, a braking mechanism 12 is individually provided with respect to each wheel FL, FR, RL, and RR in the vehicle... The driving system of the vehicle is rear wheel drive, and the driving force output from the driving motor 10 is transmitted to the rear wheels RL and RR through a differential gear 14. Furthermore, in the vehicle, a regenerative braking force BPR can be applied to the rear wheels RL, RR by controlling the driving motor 10 and an inverter for the driving motor 10..."); and
control an operation of a pressure system configured to drive a friction brake mechanism of the plurality of wheels using a pressure medium (see Nakagawa at least [0022] "The vehicle is provided with a friction braking unit 200 that controls the adjustment of the WC pressure Pwc in each of the wheel cylinders 13a to 13d. The friction braking unit 200 is a component of the braking system BS. The friction braking unit 200 is provided with a friction braking device 20..." and [0046] "The high pressure supply unit 73 includes a servo pump 732 having a servo motor 731 as a driving source, an accumulator 733 that accumulates high-pressure brake fluid, and an accumulator pressure detection sensor SE1 that detects an accumulator pressure which is a fluid pressure in the accumulator 733..."),
based on … detecting a slip of a first wheel of the plurality of wheels has occurred during execution of regenerative braking (see Nakagawa at least [0078]-[0079] "...The slip amount determination value is a value for determining whether or not a slip has occurred in at least one of the rear wheels RL and RR... That is, in the first slip suppression control, when the regenerative braking force BPR is applied to the rear wheels RL and RR, the first ECU 231 transmits to the driving control device 11 to stop the application of the regenerative braking force BPR to the rear wheels RL and RR. If the slip amount SlpE is still large even if the regenerative braking force BPR on the rear wheels RL and RR becomes equal to “0”, the first ECU 231 controls the operation of the servo pressure generation device 70 to reduce the MC pressure Pmc in each of the master chambers 361, 362. The WC pressure Pwc in all the wheel cylinders 13a to 13d is thereby reduced, so that the friction braking force BPP to apply to each of the wheels FL, FR, RL, RR becomes smaller...") …
…
…
…
However, while Nakagawa describes the adjustment of a friction braking amount for a plurality of wheels during a slip occurrence, it is not explicit that Nakagawa discloses the following:
…a memory that stores a program…
…a processor that, upon execution of the program, is configured to…
…the processor…
…block a flow of the pressure medium to the friction brake mechanism of the first wheel…
…increase a pressure of the pressure medium sent from the pressure system to the friction brake mechanism of other wheels of the plurality of wheels, other than the first wheel, as compared to the pressure of the pressure medium sent to the other wheels when the slip of the first wheel has not occurred…
…wherein the increase of the pressure of the pressure medium is to increase the pressure of the pressure medium by a predetermined increase, in addition to an increase in the pressure of the pressure medium corresponding to replacing a regenerative braking force of the first wheel with a friction braking force, to further raise the friction braking force.
Katayose, in the same field of endeavor, teaches the following:
…a memory that stores a program (see Katayose at least col 8 lines 42-58 "As seen in FIG. 4, the control unit 36 usually comprises a microcomputer which is generally constructed by an input interface circuit including an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter for converting an analog input information or data, such as each sensor signal from various vehicle sensors, to a digital signal, a central processing unit (CPU), memories (ROM, RAM) for pre-storing programs as shown in FIGS. 5 through 11, and for permanently storing a predetermined, programmed information and for temporarily storing the results of ongoing arithmetic calculations, and an output interface circuit generally including a digital-to-analog (D/A) converter and a special driver to handle or drive a larger load, that is, the electro-magnetic solenoids of the valves 19 through 28, the solenoids of the valves 18A and 18B, and the pumps 13A and 13B each being comprised of a single-directional type electric-motor driven hydraulic pump.")…
…a processor that, upon execution of the program (see Katayose at least col 8 lines 42-58 "As seen in FIG. 4, the control unit 36 usually comprises a microcomputer which is generally constructed by an input interface circuit including an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter for converting an analog input information or data, such as each sensor signal from various vehicle sensors, to a digital signal, a central processing unit (CPU), memories (ROM, RAM) for pre-storing programs as shown in FIGS. 5 through 11, and for permanently storing a predetermined, programmed information and for temporarily storing the results of ongoing arithmetic calculations, and an output interface circuit generally including a digital-to-analog (D/A) converter and a special driver to handle or drive a larger load, that is, the electro-magnetic solenoids of the valves 19 through 28, the solenoids of the valves 18A and 18B, and the pumps 13A and 13B each being comprised of a single-directional type electric-motor driven hydraulic pump."), is configured to…
…the processor (see Katayose at least col 8 lines 42-58 "As seen in FIG. 4, the control unit 36 usually comprises a microcomputer which is generally constructed by an input interface circuit including an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter for converting an analog input information or data, such as each sensor signal from various vehicle sensors, to a digital signal, a central processing unit (CPU), memories (ROM, RAM) for pre-storing programs as shown in FIGS. 5 through 11, and for permanently storing a predetermined, programmed information and for temporarily storing the results of ongoing arithmetic calculations, and an output interface circuit generally including a digital-to-analog (D/A) converter and a special driver to handle or drive a larger load, that is, the electro-magnetic solenoids of the valves 19 through 28, the solenoids of the valves 18A and 18B, and the pumps 13A and 13B each being comprised of a single-directional type electric-motor driven hydraulic pump.")…
…[reduce] a flow of the pressure medium to the friction brake mechanism of the first wheel (see Katayose at least col 1 lines 39-43 “Oversteer is generally known as an under-response to steering input as by generation of excessive slip angle on rear road wheels, whereas understeer is generally known as an over-response to steering input as by generation of excessive slip angle on front road wheels” and col 23 lines 8-32 “As seen in FIG. 13, when the vehicle is in the left-turn oversteer state, the system permits the fluid pressure generated from the pump 13B to be directed or fed to the second brake line 6, and simultaneously permits the fluid pressure output from the primary brake outlet port of the master cylinder to be directed or fed to the first brake line 5, by switching the fluid-pressure selector valves 19 and 20 and the fluid-pressure control valves 22 and 24 to their desired positions based on instructions from the control unit 36. Thus, the system operates to properly build up the fluid pressure in the front-right wheel cylinder 3 (corresponding to the outer front wheel cylinder) on the basis of the deviation from the target front-right wheel slip rate Sd.sub.FR (that is, the difference (Sd.sub.FR -S.sub.FR) between the target front-right wheel slip rate and the calculated front-right wheel slip rate), and simultaneously to reduce the fluid pressure in the rear-left wheel-brake cylinder 4 to the minimum pressure level, by switching the fluid-pressure control valves 23, 27 and 28 to their desired positions based on instructions from the control unit 36. This properly increases the braking force acting on the front-right road wheel and reduce the braking force acting on the rear-left road wheel to the minimum, thereby resulting in a reasonable yawing moment about the z-axis in the clockwise direction, effectively counter-acting the left-turn oversteer, and compensating for the undesired left-turn oversteer towards neutral steer.”)…
…increase a pressure of the pressure medium sent from the pressure system to the friction brake mechanism of other wheels of the plurality of wheels, other than the first wheel, as compared to the pressure of the pressure medium sent to the other wheels when the slip of the first wheel has not occurred (see Katayose at least col 1 lines 39-43 “Oversteer is generally known as an under-response to steering input as by generation of excessive slip angle on rear road wheels, whereas understeer is generally known as an over-response to steering input as by generation of excessive slip angle on front road wheels” and col 23 lines 8-32 “As seen in FIG. 13, when the vehicle is in the left-turn oversteer state, the system permits the fluid pressure generated from the pump 13B to be directed or fed to the second brake line 6, and simultaneously permits the fluid pressure output from the primary brake outlet port of the master cylinder to be directed or fed to the first brake line 5, by switching the fluid-pressure selector valves 19 and 20 and the fluid-pressure control valves 22 and 24 to their desired positions based on instructions from the control unit 36. Thus, the system operates to properly build up the fluid pressure in the front-right wheel cylinder 3 (corresponding to the outer front wheel cylinder) on the basis of the deviation from the target front-right wheel slip rate Sd.sub.FR (that is, the difference (Sd.sub.FR -S.sub.FR) between the target front-right wheel slip rate and the calculated front-right wheel slip rate), and simultaneously to reduce the fluid pressure in the rear-left wheel-brake cylinder 4 to the minimum pressure level, by switching the fluid-pressure control valves 23, 27 and 28 to their desired positions based on instructions from the control unit 36. This properly increases the braking force acting on the front-right road wheel and reduce the braking force acting on the rear-left road wheel to the minimum, thereby resulting in a reasonable yawing moment about the z-axis in the clockwise direction, effectively counter-acting the left-turn oversteer, and compensating for the undesired left-turn oversteer towards neutral steer.”)…
…wherein the increase of the pressure of the pressure medium is to increase the pressure of the pressure medium by a predetermined increase, in addition to an increase in the pressure of the pressure medium corresponding to replacing a regenerative braking force of the first wheel with a friction braking force, to further raise the friction braking force (see Katayose at least col 1 lines 39-43 “Oversteer is generally known as an under-response to steering input as by generation of excessive slip angle on rear road wheels, whereas understeer is generally known as an over-response to steering input as by generation of excessive slip angle on front road wheels” and col 23 lines 8-32 “As seen in FIG. 13, when the vehicle is in the left-turn oversteer state, the system permits the fluid pressure generated from the pump 13B to be directed or fed to the second brake line 6, and simultaneously permits the fluid pressure output from the primary brake outlet port of the master cylinder to be directed or fed to the first brake line 5, by switching the fluid-pressure selector valves 19 and 20 and the fluid-pressure control valves 22 and 24 to their desired positions based on instructions from the control unit 36. Thus, the system operates to properly build up the fluid pressure in the front-right wheel cylinder 3 (corresponding to the outer front wheel cylinder) on the basis of the deviation from the target front-right wheel slip rate Sd.sub.FR (that is, the difference (Sd.sub.FR -S.sub.FR) between the target front-right wheel slip rate and the calculated front-right wheel slip rate), and simultaneously to reduce the fluid pressure in the rear-left wheel-brake cylinder 4 to the minimum pressure level, by switching the fluid-pressure control valves 23, 27 and 28 to their desired positions based on instructions from the control unit 36. This properly increases the braking force acting on the front-right road wheel and reduce the braking force acting on the rear-left road wheel to the minimum, thereby resulting in a reasonable yawing moment about the z-axis in the clockwise direction, effectively counter-acting the left-turn oversteer, and compensating for the undesired left-turn oversteer towards neutral steer.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the adjustment of a friction braking amount for a plurality of wheels during a slip occurrence as disclosed by Nakagawa with specific individualize wheel controls such as taught by Katayose with a reasonable expectation of success for the sake of providing controls while a vehicle experiences additional factors such as cornering forces (see Katayose at least col 1 lines 6-13).
However, while both Nakagawa and Katayose describe brake pressure adjustments, neither reference explicitly discloses or teaches the following:
…block a flow of the pressure medium to the friction brake mechanism of the first wheel…
Ueno, in the same field of endeavor, teaches the following:
…block a flow of the pressure medium to the friction brake mechanism of the first wheel (see Ueno at least [0111]-[0112] "...That is, when the control unit 150 determines that at least one slip wheel has occurred, the control unit 150 activates the antilock control. Incidentally, for a technology for the control unit 150 to compute the slip ratios of the respective wheels, a known technology can be adopted. When the control unit 150 activates the antilock control, the control unit 150 closes the corresponding invalve (the first invalve 120 or the second invalve 124) to shut off the supply of hydraulic brake pressure to the disk brake mechanism 30a-30d arranged at the slip wheel...")…
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the adjustment of a friction braking amount for a plurality of wheels during a slip occurrence as disclosed by Nakagawa with a blockage of pressure at a wheel experiencing slip such as taught by Ueno with a reasonable expectation of success so as to ensure slippage is completely stopped (see Ueno at least [0007]).
Regarding claim 3, Nakagawa in view of Katayose and Ueno teach the vehicle control system according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:
determine that the slip of the first wheel has stopped ((see Nakagawa at least [0079] "...When the slip amount SlpE of the rear wheels RL and RR decreases by reducing the braking force applied to the wheels FL, FR, RL, and RR, the first ECU 231 controls the operation of the servo pressure generation device 70 to increase the MC pressure Pmc...") and/or (see Ueno at least [0145] "...Then, when the control unit 150 has determined that the slip of the slip wheel has stopped, the control unit 150 increases the friction braking force Poil and decreases the regenerative braking force Pmot in a state (pressure increasing control of antilock control) where the antilock control is activated."));
release the blocking of the flow of the pressure medium to the friction brake mechanism of the first wheel (see Ueno at least [0145] "...Then, when the control unit 150 has determined that the slip of the slip wheel has stopped, the control unit 150 increases the friction braking force Poil and decreases the regenerative braking force Pmot in a state (pressure increasing control of antilock control) where the antilock control is activated."); and
terminate control of increasing the pressure of the pressure medium sent to the other wheels of the plurality of wheels (see Nakagawa at least Fig 6 and [0082] “…On the other hand, if the end condition is satisfied (step S36: YES), the first ECU 231 sets the regeneration cooperation flag FLG1 to ON (step S37), and then temporarily ends the present processing routine.”) after a predetermined period of time elapses (see Ueno at least [0134] "However, in the state at time t2, the friction braking force Poil has been decreased by the antilock control. Further, it takes a certain time from when the invalve is opened until the brake fluid reaches from the first shared hydraulic passage 112 to the wheel cylinder. Consequently, as shown by the solid curve in FIG. 3B, a certain delay time Dtim (time from time t2 to time t3) is caused before the friction braking force Poil generated on the vehicle increases up to the requested braking force Preq.").
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the adjustment of a friction braking amount for a plurality of wheels during a slip occurrence as disclosed by Nakagawa with a controls after slippage has been corrected such as further taught by Ueno with a reasonable expectation of success so as to return to normal control operations (see Ueno at least [0016] and [0019]).
Regarding claim 4, Nakagawa in view of Katayose and Ueno teach the vehicle control system according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:
determine that the slip of the first wheel has been eliminated ((see Nakagawa at least [0079] "...When the slip amount SlpE of the rear wheels RL and RR decreases by reducing the braking force applied to the wheels FL, FR, RL, and RR, the first ECU 231 controls the operation of the servo pressure generation device 70 to increase the MC pressure Pmc...") and/or (see Ueno at least [0145] "...Then, when the control unit 150 has determined that the slip of the slip wheel has stopped, the control unit 150 increases the friction braking force Poil and decreases the regenerative braking force Pmot in a state (pressure increasing control of antilock control) where the antilock control is activated.")); and
terminate control of increasing the pressure of the pressure medium sent to the other wheels of the plurality of wheels by the predetermined increase (see Nakagawa at least Fig 6 and [0082] “…On the other hand, if the end condition is satisfied (step S36: YES), the first ECU 231 sets the regeneration cooperation flag FLG1 to ON (step S37), and then temporarily ends the present processing routine.”) after a predetermined period of time elapses (see Ueno at least [0134] "However, in the state at time t2, the friction braking force Poil has been decreased by the antilock control. Further, it takes a certain time from when the invalve is opened until the brake fluid reaches from the first shared hydraulic passage 112 to the wheel cylinder. Consequently, as shown by the solid curve in FIG. 3B, a certain delay time Dtim (time from time t2 to time t3) is caused before the friction braking force Poil generated on the vehicle increases up to the requested braking force Preq.").
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the adjustment of a friction braking amount for a plurality of wheels during a slip occurrence as disclosed by Nakagawa with a controls after slippage has been corrected such as further taught by Ueno with a reasonable expectation of success so as to return to normal control operations (see Ueno at least [0016] and [0019]).
Regarding claim 5, Nakagawa in view of Katayose and Ueno teach the vehicle control system according to claim 1,
wherein the increase of the pressure of the pressure medium is an amount of pressure increase that compensates for the amount of pressure decrease due to the flow of the pressure medium to the friction brake mechanism of the first wheel being blocked such that a total braking force of the vehicle does not become insufficient and vehicle instability is prevented (see Katayose at least col 1 lines 39-43 “Oversteer is generally known as an under-response to steering input as by generation of excessive slip angle on rear road wheels, whereas understeer is generally known as an over-response to steering input as by generation of excessive slip angle on front road wheels” and col 23 lines 8-32 “As seen in FIG. 13, when the vehicle is in the left-turn oversteer state, the system permits the fluid pressure generated from the pump 13B to be directed or fed to the second brake line 6, and simultaneously permits the fluid pressure output from the primary brake outlet port of the master cylinder to be directed or fed to the first brake line 5, by switching the fluid-pressure selector valves 19 and 20 and the fluid-pressure control valves 22 and 24 to their desired positions based on instructions from the control unit 36. Thus, the system operates to properly build up the fluid pressure in the front-right wheel cylinder 3 (corresponding to the outer front wheel cylinder) on the basis of the deviation from the target front-right wheel slip rate Sd.sub.FR (that is, the difference (Sd.sub.FR -S.sub.FR) between the target front-right wheel slip rate and the calculated front-right wheel slip rate), and simultaneously to reduce the fluid pressure in the rear-left wheel-brake cylinder 4 to the minimum pressure level, by switching the fluid-pressure control valves 23, 27 and 28 to their desired positions based on instructions from the control unit 36. This properly increases the braking force acting on the front-right road wheel and reduce the braking force acting on the rear-left road wheel to the minimum, thereby resulting in a reasonable yawing moment about the z-axis in the clockwise direction, effectively counter-acting the left-turn oversteer, and compensating for the undesired left-turn oversteer towards neutral steer.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the adjustment of a friction braking amount for a plurality of wheels during a slip occurrence as disclosed by Nakagawa with specific individualize wheel controls such as further taught by Katayose with a reasonable expectation of success for reasons similar to those provided above in claim 1.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakagawa in view of Katayose and Ueno, and further in view of Maruyama et al. (US-2021/0276534; hereinafter Maruyama; already of record).
Regarding claim 2, Nakagawa in view of Katayose and Ueno teach the vehicle control system according to claim 1, wherein based on the processor determining that the slip of the first wheel of the plurality of wheels has occurred, the processor is further configured to:
…while the flow of the pressure medium to the friction brake mechanism of the first wheel is blocked to increase the pressure of the pressure medium compared to the pressure of the pressure medium when the slip of the first wheel has not occurred (see Katayose at least col 1 lines 39-43 “Oversteer is generally known as an under-response to steering input as by generation of excessive slip angle on rear road wheels, whereas understeer is generally known as an over-response to steering input as by generation of excessive slip angle on front road wheels” and col 23 lines 8-32 “As seen in FIG. 13, when the vehicle is in the left-turn oversteer state, the system permits the fluid pressure generated from the pump 13B to be directed or fed to the second brake line 6, and simultaneously permits the fluid pressure output from the primary brake outlet port of the master cylinder to be directed or fed to the first brake line 5, by switching the fluid-pressure selector valves 19 and 20 and the fluid-pressure control valves 22 and 24 to their desired positions based on instructions from the control unit 36. Thus, the system operates to properly build up the fluid pressure in the front-right wheel cylinder 3 (corresponding to the outer front wheel cylinder) on the basis of the deviation from the target front-right wheel slip rate Sd.sub.FR (that is, the difference (Sd.sub.FR -S.sub.FR) between the target front-right wheel slip rate and the calculated front-right wheel slip rate), and simultaneously to reduce the fluid pressure in the rear-left wheel-brake cylinder 4 to the minimum pressure level, by switching the fluid-pressure control valves 23, 27 and 28 to their desired positions based on instructions from the control unit 36. This properly increases the braking force acting on the front-right road wheel and reduce the braking force acting on the rear-left road wheel to the minimum, thereby resulting in a reasonable yawing moment about the z-axis in the clockwise direction, effectively counter-acting the left-turn oversteer, and compensating for the undesired left-turn oversteer towards neutral steer.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the adjustment of a friction braking amount for a plurality of wheels during a slip occurrence as disclosed by Nakagawa with specific individualize wheel controls such as further taught by Katayose with a reasonable expectation of success for reasons similar to those provided above in claim 1.
However, while each of Nakagawa and Katayose and Ueno teach the adjustment of a pressure medium for a braking system, it is not explicit that either Nakagawa nor Katayose nor Ueno disclose or teach the following:
…set the pressure of the pressure medium in association with a friction braking torque obtained by multiplying a decrease in a regenerative braking torque by which the processor has reduced the regenerative braking torque by a predetermined coefficient…
Maruyama, in the same field of endeavor, teaches the following:
…set the pressure of the pressure medium in association with a friction braking torque obtained by multiplying a decrease in a regenerative braking torque by which the processor has reduced the regenerative braking torque by a predetermined coefficient (see Maruyama at least Fig 4 and [0093] "At a time point t1, since the vehicle body speed Vx reaches the first predetermined speed vo and the maximum regenerative force Fx is reduced, the regenerative braking force Fg is reduced. The friction braking force Fm is increased to compensate for the decrease in the regenerative braking force Fg. As the friction braking force increases, the target liquid pressure Pt (as a result, the adjustment liquid pressure Pa, brake liquid pressure Pw) is increased from the predetermined liquid pressure pp. Accordingly, a braking force F acting on the vehicle matches the required braking force Fd (=fa). That is, at the time point t1 after the preceding pressurization is performed, the replacement operation between the regenerative braking force Fg and the friction braking force Fm is started. As the target liquid pressure Pt increases in the replacement operation, the liquid pressure change amount dP increases and the target rotation speed Nt increases. As a result, the actual rotation speed Na is increased to a value nb (see characteristic Ca).")…
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the braking controls as taught by Nakagawa in view of Katayose and Ueno with an adjustment of friction braking proportional to an adjustment of regenerative braking such as taught by Maruyama with a reasonable expectation of success so as to provide an appropriate amount of braking force for a vehicle (see Maruyama at least [0005]-[0007]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Ganzel (US-2017/0217418) teaches the isolation of a brake circuit to achieve a desired pressure level, upon experiencing abnormalities such as slippage.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 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.
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/S.P.R./Examiner, Art Unit 3663
/KYLE J KINGSLAND/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3663
Prosecution Insights