DETAILED ACTION
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) 1-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Sonoda (U.S. Pat. No. 12,077,230).
Regarding claim 1, Sonoda discloses a rear wheel steering apparatus comprising:
a rear wheel steering mechanism configured to set a control speed of a rear wheel steering actuator in accordance with a vehicle speed of a vehicle (shown in fig. 10 due vehicle speed the correction on the steering controls the speed of the wheels to create a smoother transition also disclosed in col. 7, lines 7-35);
an acquisition unit (2) configured to acquire traveling operation input information of the vehicle;
a correction unit (15a) configured to correct the control speed based on the traveling operation input information; and
a drive control unit configured to drive the rear wheel steering actuator based on a correction result of correction by the correction unit obtained by switching between a case where the control speed is limited and a case where the control speed is not limited (the col. 7 citation discloses where a correction is applied and one where it is not).
Regarding claim 2 which depends from claim 1, Sonoda discloses wherein the acquisition unit is configured to acquire:
steering speed information of front wheel steering of the vehicle (acceleration option addressed) or
acceleration or
deceleration information of the vehicle as the traveling operation input information (2 is a vehicle speed sensor which is acceleration and deceleration information).
Regarding claim 3 which depends from claim 1, Sonoda discloses wherein the acquisition unit is configured to acquire steering direction information of front wheel steering of the vehicle as the traveling operation input information (5 is a steering sensor), and the correction unit is configured to not limit the control speed when the steering direction information indicates steering to a neutral steering direction, and to limit the control speed when the steering direction information indicates steering to a non-neutral steering direction (col. 4, lines 16-36 discloses that when a certain type of steering is done the rear wheels are allowed to return to neutral without correction).
Regarding claim 4 which depends from claim 1, Sonoda discloses wherein the acquisition unit is configured to acquire, as the traveling operation input information, reverse operation information indicating that a reverse operation of front wheel steering (i.e. the wheels were being steered to the left and now they are going back to neutral or right) of the vehicle is performed at a predetermined speed or higher, and the correction unit is configured to, when the reverse operation information is acquired, maximize a limit on the control speed until a target steering angle of a rear wheel obtained by rear wheel steering coincides with an actual steering angle of the rear wheel (col. 4, lines 15-25 discloses that in cutback turning the rear wheels are allowed to return to neutral quicker than the front wheels).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Please review when considering a response to this office action.
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GONZALO LAGUARDA
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3747 email: gonzalo.laguarda@uspto.gov
/GONZALO LAGUARDA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3747
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