DETAILED ACTION
1. This Final Rejection is in response to the Amendment filed February 2, 2026.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
2. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
3. 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.
4. Claim(s) 11-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by the Betz reference (DE 102011106522B3).
5. Regarding claim 11, the Betz reference discloses:
a method of detecting a fault in a valve of a braking system [Paragraph 0057] for a vehicle with a towed trailer (intended use), the method comprising:
providing the braking system having a first brake valve (7), a second brake valve (5), a brake pressure output line (2), a pressure sensor (8), and a control device (14) configured to actuate the first and second brake valves; triggering the first parking brake valve (7) (implicit) during a first time period to open the first brake valve (implicit); determining, via the pressure sensor (8), a pressure in the brake pressure output line (2) after the first time period [Paragraph 0057]; and comparing a pressure in the brake pressure output line (2) with a reference value [Paragraph 0057].
6. Regarding claim 12, the Betz reference further discloses:
detecting a malfunction in the first brake valve (7) based on the pressure in the brake pressure output line (2) exceeding the reference value after the first time period [Paragraph 0057].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-10 are allowed.
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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHARLES J BRAUCH whose telephone number is (313)446-6511. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:00 AM to 6 PM.
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 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.
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/CHARLES JOSEPH BRAUCH/
Examiner
Art Unit 3747
/LONG T TRAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3747
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