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 .
Drawings
The drawings were received on September 11th 2024. These drawings are accepted.
Specification
The specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware of, in the specification.
Status of Claims
This Final rejection is in response to the applicant’s filing on May 6th 2026;
Claims 1-20 are pending and examined below.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the rejection of claims under 35 USC § 103 have been fully considered but are moot. Specifically, the Examiner agrees that King in view of Wand does not explicitly teach; “…the first source is the IMU or a global positioning system (GPS), the first motion characteristic is a speed or an acceleration of the golf vehicle…detect a brake lockup event based on the first motion characteristic and the second motion characteristic, wherein during the brake lockup event one or more of the tractive elements cease rotating and slide…”. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn; However, upon further consideration a new grond(S) of rejection is made for claim 1 over King (Patent No. US20220266806A1) in view of Viele (Patent No.US 20190217831A1).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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 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 1-15 and 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over King (Patent No. US20220266806A1) in view of Viele (Patent No.US 20190217831A1).
Regarding claim 1 King teaches, a golf vehicle comprising: a chassis; a prime mover; (See King paragraph 0045 and 0046; “FIG. 1 shows an example utility vehicle 20 … includes a utility vehicle body 22 (e.g., a chassis, a frame, etc.), a set of tires (or wheels) 24, … the utility vehicle 20 has the form factor of a golf car… The motion control system 26 controls vehicle movement such as drive provided by the set of tires 24 …”); a plurality of tractive elements, at least one of the plurality of tractive elements driven by the prime mover; (See King paragraph 0045 and 0048; “The motion control system 26 controls vehicle movement such as drive provided by the set of tires 24, speed control, braking, and so on thus enabling the utility vehicle 20 to perform useful work… the motion control system 26 includes other apparatus/components as well. Along these lines, the motion control system 26 further includes a drivetrain (e.g., a set of gears, linkage, etc.) that connects the motor system 30 to the set of tires 24 (e.g., two drive wheels and two non-drive wheels), a steering wheel (or column), a steering gear set that connects the steering wheel to certain tires 24..”); a motion sensor configured to acquire speed data or acceleration data regarding a speed or an acceleration of at least one of the prime mover or the at least one of the plurality of tractive elements; (See King paragraph 0069; “… vehicle velocity sensing mechanisms are suitable for use as well such as a set of wheel speed sensors, a set of ground speed sensors, combinations thereof, and so on.”).
King does not explicitly teach but Viele teaches, an inertial measurement unit (IMU);(See Viele paragraph 0154; “…FIG. 1, the tail unit 118 in the tail vehicle 110 includes a tail controller 130 and a tail IMU 132…“); and a control system configured to: acquire a first motion characteristic of the golf vehicle from a first source, the first source is the IMU or a global positioning system (GPS), the first motion characteristic is a speed or an acceleration of the golf vehicle; (See Viele paragraph 0154 and 0181; “ …the tail IMU 132 measures the orientation and acceleration of the tail vehicle 110 and provides this information to the tail controller 130. The tail IMU 132 can for example include one or more accelerometers and gyroscopes, but the tail IMU 132 can include other features such as a GPS. In one example, the tail IMU 132 is able to measure orientation and acceleration of the tail vehicle 110 along nine (9) axes… With the wheel diameter, the head controller 120 and/or tail controller 130 is able to estimate the speed of the individual trailer wheels 250. In one form, the tail controller 130 via the processor 610 determines the wheel speed and transmit the wheel speed data to the head controller 120…”); acquire a second motion characteristic of the golf vehicle from a second source, the second source is the motion sensor; detect a brake lockup event based on the first motion characteristic and the second motion characteristic, wherein during the brake lockup event one or more of the tractive elements cease rotating and slide; (See Viele paragraph 0181; “FIG. 7, a wheel speed sensor system 700 of the automobile-trailer system 200 includes a brake harness 705 with one or more brake harness wires 710 connected to each of the brakes 255… With the wheel diameter, the head controller 120 and/or tail controller 130 is able to estimate the speed of the individual trailer wheels 250. In one form, the tail controller 130 via the processor 610 determines the wheel speed and transmit the wheel speed data to the head controller 120. When the wheel diameter is unknown, the control subsystem 115 is still able to detect differences in wheel speed between the trailer wheels 250 and detect wheel lockup…”); and implement a countermeasure to mitigate the brake lockup event; (See Viele paragraph 0181-0182 and 0185; “…In one form, the tail controller 130 via the processor 610 determines the wheel speed and transmit the wheel speed data to the head controller 120. When the wheel diameter is unknown, the control subsystem 115 is still able to detect differences in wheel speed between the trailer wheels 250 and detect wheel lockup.
FIG. 8 shows another example of a TPMS system 800 which can be incorporated into the automobile-trailer system 200. Like in FIG. 7, the brake harness 705 with the brake harness wires 710 operatively connects the tail controller 130 to the brakes 255 so that the control subsystem 115 is able to independently control the brakes 255…
With both the wheel speed sensor system 700 of FIG. 7 and the TPMS system 800 of FIG. 8, the sensed wheel speed can be beneficially used in a wide variety of situations. For example, the control subsystem 115 can determine whether the automobile 205 is on a dirt, gravel, or paved road depending on the cycle to cycle variations in acceleration of the trailer wheels 250. When wheel slipping occurs, such as on dirt or gravel roads, the wheel acceleration dramatically changes. With these fluctuations of wheel acceleration, the head controller 120 and/or tail controller 130 is then able to determine the road type and/or road conditions (e.g., rain, snow, etc.). Based on this information, the control subsystem 115 is able to switch between various braking characteristics…”).
Both King and Viele are in the same field of system and methods for vehicle control. It would have been obvious for one ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of present invention to modify King a golf vehicle with Viele motion characteristics acquired by IMU and GPS. No new functionality would arise from the combination and the combination would improve usability of King by adding a golf vehicle which allows to collect data on the vehicle in real time to determine the vehicle breaking status. Further, finding that one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 2 King in view of Viele teaches, the golf vehicle of claim 1, King does not explicitly teach but Viele teaches wherein the control system is configured to detect the brake lockup event by: determining a difference between the first motion characteristic and the second motion characteristic; and comparing the difference to a threshold; wherein the brake lockup event is detected when the difference is greater than the threshold; (See Viele paragraph 0190-0191; “Improper trailer braking can lead to dangerous driving conditions. However, determining how much brake force to apply to the brakes 255 of the trailer 210 is rather difficult. Some proposed designs require force sensors around the tow hitch which can be an expensive proposition, and these force sensors can be readily damaged. The control subsystem 115 described herein uses an indirect approach that is easy to retrofit to existing vehicles and is inexpensive. In this indirect technique, both the head IMU 122 on the automobile 205 and the tail IMU 132 on the trailer 210 are used to measure pitches of the head tow hitch 230 and tow coupler 260. Under braking, the automobile 205 will pitch forward when insufficient trailer braking occurs, and the automobile 205 will pitch backwards when too much trailer braking is applied. With the dynamic pitch measurements from the head IMU 122 and the tail IMU 132, the control subsystem 115 dynamically maintains the relative pitch of both automobile 205 and trailer 210 within a designated pitch range so that the brakes 222 of the automobile 205 and the brakes 255 of the trailer 210 are applied correctly.
For instance, when the head controller 120 through the head IMU 122 detects an excessive forward pitch to the automobile 205, the head unit 116 sends an instruction to the tail unit 118 to apply greater braking force to the brakes 255 in the tail braking system 160. In another variation, when the tail controller 130 through the tail IMU 132 senses an excessive backward pitch of the trailer 210, which is indicative of under braking by the trailer 210, the tail controller 130 of the tail unit 118 can automatically (e.g., without instructions from the head unit 116) apply greater braking force to the brakes 255 of the trailer 210.”).
Both King and Viele are in the same field of system and methods for vehicle control. It would have been obvious for one ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of present invention to modify King a golf vehicle with Viele motion characteristics acquired by IMU and GPS. No new functionality would arise from the combination and the combination would improve usability of King by adding a golf vehicle which allows to collect data on the vehicle in real time to determine the vehicle breaking status. Further, finding that one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 3 King in view of Viele teaches, the golf vehicle of claim 2,King further teaches, wherein the prime mover includes an electric motor, and wherein the control system is configured to: determine a severity of traction loss based on the difference; and determine a torque reduction based on the severity of traction loss; wherein the countermeasure includes reducing a regenerative-braking torque applied by the electric motor to the at least one of the plurality of tractive elements by the torque reduction; (See King paragraph 0069-0070; “…the controller 310 electrically couples with the electric motor 42, and current motor RPM (rotations per minute) is directly correlated to current vehicle velocity according to the gear ratio that links the electric motor 42 to the set of tires 24. Accordingly, current motor RPM may be considered an indicator of the current speed of the utility vehicle 20. Other vehicle velocity sensing mechanisms are suitable for use as well such as a set of wheel speed sensors, a set of ground speed sensors, combinations thereof, and so on.
During operation, the controller 310 may perform pulse-based emergency braking in response to an emergency brake trigger (or event) 320. For example, the controller 310 may determine that the utility vehicle 20 is exceeding a maximum predefined speed and consider that situation to be a fault condition requiring the utility vehicle 20 to reduce its speed or even stop. Other situations are suitable for use as an emergency brake trigger 320 as well such as detecting loss of regenerative braking, determining that the difference between the current vehicle speed and the expected vehicle speed (e.g., based on the current pedal deflection angle) exceeds a predefined threshold, and so on.”).
Regarding claim 4 King in view of Viele teaches, the golf vehicle of claim 2,King further teaches, wherein the prime mover includes an electric motor, and wherein the control system is configured to: determine a severity of traction loss based on the difference; and determine a power reduction based on the severity of traction loss; wherein the countermeasure includes reducing an available power to the prime mover by the power reduction; (See King paragraph 0073 and 0090; “During electric pulse generation 340, the controller 310 provides a control signal in the form of a series 360 of dynamically generated braking pulses 362 which controls delivery of power from the rechargeable battery 52 (FIG. 2) to the electric brake 44. For example, the control signal may open and close switching circuitry between the rechargeable battery 52 and the electric brake 44. Accordingly, the braking pulses 362 of the series 360 are formed in real time and may differ from one another… the utility vehicle 20 may be configured to continue this operation until the utility vehicle 20 comes to a full stop or until the vehicle velocity drops to a predefined safe speed. In some arrangements, once the vehicle velocity drops below a predefined speed (e.g., when the electric motor 42 rotates at 275 RPMs or lower), the controller 310 then cuts power to the electric brake 44 continuously so that the utility vehicle 20 comes to a full stop.”).
Regarding claim 5 King in view of Viele teaches, the golf vehicle of claim 1, King further teaches, wherein the prime mover includes an electric motor, and wherein the countermeasure includes reducing a regenerative-braking torque applied by the electric motor to the at least one of the plurality of tractive elements; (See King paragraph 0049; “…the utility vehicle 20 includes an electric parking brake which disengages only when energized. In response to an emergency situation (e.g., loss of regenerative braking, a detected overspeed condition in which the current speed of the utility vehicle 20 exceeds a predefined maximum speed, etc.), the utility vehicle 20 may cut power to the electric parking brake. However, to prevent the utility vehicle 20 from stopping too abruptly, the utility vehicle 20 provides closed-loop control of pulse timing to counter any variation in electric brake response. Accordingly, the utility vehicle 20 is able to slow more gradually before cutting power to the electric parking brake for good. Further details will now be provided with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.”).
Regarding claim 6 King in view of Viele teaches, the golf vehicle of claim 1, King further teaches, wherein the prime mover includes an electric motor, and wherein the countermeasure includes reducing an amount of electrical power available to the electric motor; (See King paragraph 0051;” As shown in FIG. 2, the motor system 30 of the motion control system 26 includes a motor controller 40, an electric motor 42 which is linked to the set of tires 24 (FIG. 1), and an electric brake 44 coupled with the electric motor 42. The motor controller 40 controls delivery of stored electric power from the rechargeable battery system 32 to the electric motor 42 which ultimately turns at least some of the tires 24 to move the utility vehicle 20. In some embodiments, the motor controller 40 further controls delivery of regenerative power from the electric motor 42 back to the rechargeable battery system 32 (e.g., regenerative braking for battery recharging).
The electric brake 44 is constructed and arranged to provide mechanical resistance which inhibits turning of the electric motor 42 when the electric brake 44 is unpowered. The electric brake 44 is further constructed and arranged to remove the mechanical resistance thus releasing the electric motor 42 and allowing the electric motor 42 to turn when the electric brake 44 receives power.”).
Regarding claim 7 King in view of Viele teaches, the golf vehicle of claim 1, King further teaches, wherein the control system is configured to implement the countermeasure for a predetermined period after the detection of the brake lockup event; (See King paragraph 0076;” … the controller 310 is constructed and arranged to continue electric pulse generation 340 for a set period of time after the emergency brake trigger 320 (e.g., eight seconds). After the set period of time has elapsed, the controller 310 discontinues the electric pulses to the electric brake 44 to continuously engage the electric brake.”).
Regarding claim 8 King in view of Viele teaches, the golf vehicle of claim 1, King further teaches, wherein the control system is configured to gradually reduce the countermeasure over a predetermined period; (See King paragraph 0076;” … the controller 310 is constructed and arranged to continue electric pulse generation 340 for a set period of time after the emergency brake trigger 320 (e.g., eight seconds). After the set period of time has elapsed, the controller 310 discontinues the electric pulses to the electric brake 44 to continuously engage the electric brake.”).
Regarding claim 9 King in view of Viele teaches, the golf vehicle of claim 1, King does not explicitly teach but Wang teaches, wherein the first motion characteristic is acquired from the GPS; (See Viele paragraph 0154; “…The tail IMU 132 can for example include one or more accelerometers and gyroscopes, but the tail IMU 132 can include other features such as a GPS. In one example, the tail IMU 132 is able to measure orientation and acceleration of the tail vehicle 110 along nine (9) axes, but in other examples, the tail IMU 132 can monitor along more or less axes...”).
Both King and Viele are in the same field of system and methods for vehicle control. It would have been obvious for one ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of present invention to modify King a golf vehicle with Viele motion characteristics acquired by IMU and GPS. No new functionality would arise from the combination and the combination would improve usability of King by adding a golf vehicle which allows to collect data on the vehicle in real time to determine the vehicle breaking status. Further, finding that one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 10 King in Viele teaches, the golf vehicle of claim 1, King does not explicitly teach but Viele teaches, wherein the first motion characteristic is acquired from the IMU; (See Viele paragraph 0154; “…The tail IMU 132 can for example include one or more accelerometers and gyroscopes, but the tail IMU 132 can include other features such as a GPS. In one example, the tail IMU 132 is able to measure orientation and acceleration of the tail vehicle 110 along nine (9) axes, but in other examples, the tail IMU 132 can monitor along more or less axes...”).
Both King and Viele are in the same field of system and methods for vehicle control. It would have been obvious for one ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of present invention to modify King a golf vehicle with Viele motion characteristics acquired by IMU and GPS. No new functionality would arise from the combination and the combination would improve usability of King by adding a golf vehicle which allows to collect data on the vehicle in real time to determine the vehicle breaking status. Further, finding that one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 11 King in view of Viele teaches, the golf vehicle of claim 1, King does not explicitly teach but Wang teaches wherein the control system is configured to: acquire a third motion characteristic from a third source, the third source including the GPS; and detect the brake lockup event based on the first motion characteristic, the second motion characteristic, and the third motion characteristic; (See Viele paragraph 0190-0191; “Improper trailer braking can lead to dangerous driving conditions. However, determining how much brake force to apply to the brakes 255 of the trailer 210 is rather difficult. Some proposed designs require force sensors around the tow hitch which can be an expensive proposition, and these force sensors can be readily damaged. The control subsystem 115 described herein uses an indirect approach that is easy to retrofit to existing vehicles and is inexpensive. In this indirect technique, both the head IMU 122 on the automobile 205 and the tail IMU 132 on the trailer 210 are used to measure pitches of the head tow hitch 230 and tow coupler 260. Under braking, the automobile 205 will pitch forward when insufficient trailer braking occurs, and the automobile 205 will pitch backwards when too much trailer braking is applied. With the dynamic pitch measurements from the head IMU 122 and the tail IMU 132, the control subsystem 115 dynamically maintains the relative pitch of both automobile 205 and trailer 210 within a designated pitch range so that the brakes 222 of the automobile 205 and the brakes 255 of the trailer 210 are applied correctly.
For instance, when the head controller 120 through the head IMU 122 detects an excessive forward pitch to the automobile 205, the head unit 116 sends an instruction to the tail unit 118 to apply greater braking force to the brakes 255 in the tail braking system 160. In another variation, when the tail controller 130 through the tail IMU 132 senses an excessive backward pitch of the trailer 210, which is indicative of under braking by the trailer 210, the tail controller 130 of the tail unit 118 can automatically (e.g., without instructions from the head unit 116) apply greater braking force to the brakes 255 of the trailer 210.”).
Both King and Viele are in the same field of system and methods for vehicle control. It would have been obvious for one ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of present invention to modify King a golf vehicle with Viele motion characteristics acquired by IMU and GPS. No new functionality would arise from the combination and the combination would improve usability of King by adding a golf vehicle which allows to collect data on the vehicle in real time to determine the vehicle breaking status. Further, finding that one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 12 King in view of Viele teaches, the golf vehicle of claim 11, King further teaches, wherein the prime mover includes an electric motor, and wherein the control system is configured to; (See King paragraph 0073 and 0090; “During electric pulse generation 340, the controller 310 provides a control signal in the form of a series 360 of dynamically generated braking pulses 362 which controls delivery of power from the rechargeable battery 52 (FIG. 2) to the electric brake 44. For example, the control signal may open and close switching circuitry between the rechargeable battery 52 and the electric brake 44. Accordingly, the braking pulses 362 of the series 360 are formed in real time and may differ from one another… the utility vehicle 20 may be configured to continue this operation until the utility vehicle 20 comes to a full stop or until the vehicle velocity drops to a predefined safe speed. In some arrangements, once the vehicle velocity drops below a predefined speed (e.g., when the electric motor 42 rotates at 275 RPMs or lower), the controller 310 then cuts power to the electric brake 44 continuously so that the utility vehicle 20 comes to a full stop.”);
wherein the countermeasure includes at least one of (a) reducing a regenerative-braking torque by the electric motor to the at least one of the plurality of tractive elements by the torque reduction or (b) reducing an available power to the electric motor by the power reduction; (See King paragraph 0051;” As shown in FIG. 2, the motor system 30 of the motion control system 26 includes a motor controller 40, an electric motor 42 which is linked to the set of tires 24 (FIG. 1), and an electric brake 44 coupled with the electric motor 42. The motor controller 40 controls delivery of stored electric power from the rechargeable battery system 32 to the electric motor 42 which ultimately turns at least some of the tires 24 to move the utility vehicle 20. In some embodiments, the motor controller 40 further controls delivery of regenerative power from the electric motor 42 back to the rechargeable battery system 32 (e.g., regenerative braking for battery recharging).
The electric brake 44 is constructed and arranged to provide mechanical resistance which inhibits turning of the electric motor 42 when the electric brake 44 is unpowered. The electric brake 44 is further constructed and arranged to remove the mechanical resistance thus releasing the electric motor 42 and allowing the electric motor 42 to turn when the electric brake 44 receives power.”).
King does not explicitly teach but Viele teaches, determine a first difference between the first motion characteristic and the second motion characteristic; determine a second difference between the second motion characteristic and the third motion characteristic; (See Viele paragraph 0190-0191; “Improper trailer braking can lead to dangerous driving conditions. However, determining how much brake force to apply to the brakes 255 of the trailer 210 is rather difficult. Some proposed designs require force sensors around the tow hitch which can be an expensive proposition, and these force sensors can be readily damaged. The control subsystem 115 described herein uses an indirect approach that is easy to retrofit to existing vehicles and is inexpensive. In this indirect technique, both the head IMU 122 on the automobile 205 and the tail IMU 132 on the trailer 210 are used to measure pitches of the head tow hitch 230 and tow coupler 260. Under braking, the automobile 205 will pitch forward when insufficient trailer braking occurs, and the automobile 205 will pitch backwards when too much trailer braking is applied. With the dynamic pitch measurements from the head IMU 122 and the tail IMU 132, the control subsystem 115 dynamically maintains the relative pitch of both automobile 205 and trailer 210 within a designated pitch range so that the brakes 222 of the automobile 205 and the brakes 255 of the trailer 210 are applied correctly.
For instance, when the head controller 120 through the head IMU 122 detects an excessive forward pitch to the automobile 205, the head unit 116 sends an instruction to the tail unit 118 to apply greater braking force to the brakes 255 in the tail braking system 160. In another variation, when the tail controller 130 through the tail IMU 132 senses an excessive backward pitch of the trailer 210, which is indicative of under braking by the trailer 210, the tail controller 130 of the tail unit 118 can automatically (e.g., without instructions from the head unit 116) apply greater braking force to the brakes 255 of the trailer 210.”); determine a severity of traction loss based on the first difference and the second difference; and determine at least one of a torque reduction or a power reduction based on the severity of traction loss; (See Viele paragraph 0190-0191; “Improper trailer braking can lead to dangerous driving conditions. However, determining how much brake force to apply to the brakes 255 of the trailer 210 is rather difficult. Some proposed designs require force sensors around the tow hitch which can be an expensive proposition, and these force sensors can be readily damaged. The control subsystem 115 described herein uses an indirect approach that is easy to retrofit to existing vehicles and is inexpensive. In this indirect technique, both the head IMU 122 on the automobile 205 and the tail IMU 132 on the trailer 210 are used to measure pitches of the head tow hitch 230 and tow coupler 260. Under braking, the automobile 205 will pitch forward when insufficient trailer braking occurs, and the automobile 205 will pitch backwards when too much trailer braking is applied. With the dynamic pitch measurements from the head IMU 122 and the tail IMU 132, the control subsystem 115 dynamically maintains the relative pitch of both automobile 205 and trailer 210 within a designated pitch range so that the brakes 222 of the automobile 205 and the brakes 255 of the trailer 210 are applied correctly.
For instance, when the head controller 120 through the head IMU 122 detects an excessive forward pitch to the automobile 205, the head unit 116 sends an instruction to the tail unit 118 to apply greater braking force to the brakes 255 in the tail braking system 160. In another variation, when the tail controller 130 through the tail IMU 132 senses an excessive backward pitch of the trailer 210, which is indicative of under braking by the trailer 210, the tail controller 130 of the tail unit 118 can automatically (e.g., without instructions from the head unit 116) apply greater braking force to the brakes 255 of the trailer 210.”).
Both King and Viele are in the same field of system and methods for vehicle control. It would have been obvious for one ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of present invention to modify King a golf vehicle with Viele motion characteristics acquired by IMU and GPS. No new functionality would arise from the combination and the combination would improve usability of King by adding a golf vehicle which allows to collect data on the vehicle in real time to determine the vehicle breaking status. Further, finding that one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 13 King in view of Viele teaches, the golf vehicle of claim 1, King further teaches, wherein the second motion characteristic includes at least one of a wheel speed, a motor speed, a motor deceleration, a wheel deceleration, a motor torque, or a motor current; (See King paragraph 0069;”…the controller 310 electrically couples with the electric motor 42, and current motor RPM (rotations per minute) is directly correlated to current vehicle velocity according to the gear ratio that links the electric motor 42 to the set of tires 24. Accordingly, current motor RPM may be considered an indicator of the current speed of the utility vehicle 20. Other vehicle velocity sensing mechanisms are suitable for use as well such as a set of wheel speed sensors, a set of ground speed sensors, combinations thereof, and so on.”).
Regarding claim 14 King in view of Viele teaches, the golf vehicle of claim 1, King does not explicitly teach but Viele teaches, wherein: if the first motion characteristic is a speed of the golf vehicle and the second motion characteristic is a speed of one or more of the tractive elements, the brake lockup event occurs when the first motion characteristic is greater than the second motion characteristic; (See Viele paragraph 0190-0191; “Improper trailer braking can lead to dangerous driving conditions. However, determining how much brake force to apply to the brakes 255 of the trailer 210 is rather difficult. Some proposed designs require force sensors around the tow hitch which can be an expensive proposition, and these force sensors can be readily damaged. The control subsystem 115 described herein uses an indirect approach that is easy to retrofit to existing vehicles and is inexpensive. In this indirect technique, both the head IMU 122 on the automobile 205 and the tail IMU 132 on the trailer 210 are used to measure pitches of the head tow hitch 230 and tow coupler 260. Under braking, the automobile 205 will pitch forward when insufficient trailer braking occurs, and the automobile 205 will pitch backwards when too much trailer braking is applied. With the dynamic pitch measurements from the head IMU 122 and the tail IMU 132, the control subsystem 115 dynamically maintains the relative pitch of both automobile 205 and trailer 210 within a designated pitch range so that the brakes 222 of the automobile 205 and the brakes 255 of the trailer 210 are applied correctly.
For instance, when the head controller 120 through the head IMU 122 detects an excessive forward pitch to the automobile 205, the head unit 116 sends an instruction to the tail unit 118 to apply greater braking force to the brakes 255 in the tail braking system 160. In another variation, when the tail controller 130 through the tail IMU 132 senses an excessive backward pitch of the trailer 210, which is indicative of under braking by the trailer 210, the tail controller 130 of the tail unit 118 can automatically (e.g., without instructions from the head unit 116) apply greater braking force to the brakes 255 of the trailer 210.”); and if the first motion characteristic is a magnitude of an acceleration of the golf vehicle and the second motion characteristic is a magnitude of an acceleration of the one or more tractive elements, the brake lockup event occurs when the second motion characteristic is greater than the first motion characteristic; (See Viele paragraph 0194 and 0185; “Locking of the brakes 255 in the trailer 210 can also be dangerous. When the brakes 255 of the trailer 210 lock, there is less brake force available. The control subsystem 115 is configured to use an anti-lock brake technique when the brakes 255 are locked. As noted above, one of the unique features of the tail unit 118 is the ability to independently control the force applied to each of the brakes 255 in the trailer 210. With this independent control capability, when an individual trailer wheel 250 locks up, the braking force applied to the brakes 255 for that trailer wheel 250 is reduced so that the trailer wheel 250 is no longer skidding. As should be recognized the tail unit 118 is able to reduce the braking force independently to multiple brakes 255 in the trailer 210 at the same time to eliminate lock up or skidding of the trailer wheels 250. As should be recognized, wheel lock up can be detected when the wheel speed sensors 265 and/or TPMS sensors 275 sense the trailer wheels 250 are not moving (i.e., have a speed of zero).
…Based on this information, the control subsystem 115 is able to switch between various braking characteristics. For instance, when the control subsystem 115 detects that the trailer 210 is on a dirt or slippery road, the control subsystem 115 can switch to a more aggressive braking mode for the trailer 210 so as to compensate for the longer stopping conditions.”).
Both King and Viele are in the same field of system and methods for vehicle control. It would have been obvious for one ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of present invention to modify King a golf vehicle with Viele motion characteristics acquired by IMU and GPS. No new functionality would arise from the combination and the combination would improve usability of King by adding a golf vehicle which allows to collect data on the vehicle in real time to determine the vehicle breaking status. Further, finding that one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 15 King in view of Viele teaches, the golf vehicle of claim 1, King further teaches, and wherein the second motion characteristic includes at least one of an expected speed or an expected acceleration of the golf vehicle determined based on the speed data or the acceleration data; (See King paragraph 0069 and 0070; “…the controller 310 electrically couples with the electric motor 42, and current motor RPM (rotations per minute) is directly correlated to current vehicle velocity according to the gear ratio that links the electric motor 42 to the set of tires 24. Accordingly, current motor RPM may be considered an indicator of the current speed of the utility vehicle 20. Other vehicle velocity sensing mechanisms are suitable for use as well such as a set of wheel speed sensors, a set of ground speed sensors, combinations thereof, and so on…the controller 310 may perform pulse-based emergency braking in response to an emergency brake trigger (or event) 320. For example, the controller 310 may determine that the utility vehicle 20 is exceeding a maximum predefined speed and consider that situation to be a fault condition requiring the utility vehicle 20 to reduce its speed or even stop. Other situations are suitable for use as an emergency brake trigger 320 as well such as detecting loss of regenerative braking, determining that the difference between the current vehicle speed and the expected vehicle speed (e.g., based on the current pedal deflection angle) exceeds a predefined threshold, and so on.”).
Regarding claim 17 a vehicle system comprising: one or more processing circuits configured to; (See King paragraph 0045 and 0065; “…The utility vehicle 20 includes a utility vehicle body 22 (e.g., a chassis, a frame, etc.), a set of tires (or wheels) 24, and a motion control system 26 …the processing circuitry 208 runs the specialized braking control code 224 to electronically control power to the electric brake 44…”); detect a braking event of a recreational vehicle; (See King paragraph 0043 and 0096; “controlling an electric brake of a vehicle by providing electric pulses having varying pulse timing, e.g., dynamically generating step signals to control the electric brake, based on a velocity feedback signal. Such a technique provides closed-loop control of braking “ON” and/or “OFF” pulse timing to counter any variation in electric brake response from one vehicle to another. Accordingly, each vehicle may be reliably configured to provide a consistent emergency braking response regardless of variations from brake to brake, the current weight carried by that vehicle, environmental conditions, and so on… At 506, in response to sensing the fault condition, the specialized circuitry provides electric pulses to the electric brake in place of continuously providing power to the electric brake. Such electric pulses have varying pulse timing that controls braking of the vehicle. For example, to control braking, the specialized circuitry may control a power delivery switch using a control signal that is a dynamically generated series of step signals based on a velocity feedback signal that indicates current velocity of the vehicle.”); the recreational vehicle including a plurality of tractive elements; (See King paragraph 0045 and 0048; “The motion control system 26 controls vehicle movement such as drive provided by the set of tires 24, speed control, braking, and so on thus enabling the utility vehicle 20 to perform useful work… the motion control system 26 includes other apparatus/components as well. Along these lines, the motion control system 26 further includes a drivetrain (e.g., a set of gears, linkage, etc.) that connects the motor system 30 to the set of tires 24 (e.g., two drive wheels and two non-drive wheels), a steering wheel (or column), a steering gear set that connects the steering wheel to certain tires 24..”).
King does not explicitly teach but Viele teaches, acquire a first motion characteristic of the recreational vehicle from a first source, wherein the first motion characteristic is a speed or an acceleration of the recreational vehicle; (See Viele paragraph 0154 and 0181; “…the tail IMU 132 measures the orientation and acceleration of the tail vehicle 110 and provides this information to the tail controller 130. The tail IMU 132 can for example include one or more accelerometers and gyroscopes, but the tail IMU 132 can include other features such as a GPS. In one example, the tail IMU 132 is able to measure orientation and acceleration of the tail vehicle 110 along nine (9) axes… With the wheel diameter, the head controller 120 and/or tail controller 130 is able to estimate the speed of the individual trailer wheels 250. In one form, the tail controller 130 via the processor 610 determines the wheel speed and transmit the wheel speed data to the head controller 120…”); acquire a second motion characteristic of the recreational vehicle from a second source, wherein the second motion characteristic indicates a speed or an acceleration of one or more of the tractive elements; (See Viele paragraph 0181; “FIG. 7, a wheel speed sensor system 700 of the automobile-trailer system 200 includes a brake harness 705 with one or more brake harness wires 710 connected to each of the brakes 255… With the wheel diameter, the head controller 120 and/or tail controller 130 is able to estimate the speed of the individual trailer wheels 250. In one form, the tail controller 130 via the processor 610 determines the wheel speed and transmit the wheel speed data to the head controller 120. When the wheel diameter is unknown, the control subsystem 115 is still able to detect differences in wheel speed between the trailer wheels 250 and detect wheel lockup…”); determine a difference between the first motion characteristic and the second motion characteristic; compare the difference to a threshold; (See Viele paragraph 0190-0191; “Improper trailer braking can lead to dangerous driving conditions. However, determining how much brake force to apply to the brakes 255 of the trailer 210 is rather difficult. Some proposed designs require force sensors around the tow hitch which can be an expensive proposition, and these force sensors can be readily damaged. The control subsystem 115 described herein uses an indirect approach that is easy to retrofit to existing vehicles and is inexpensive. In this indirect technique, both the head IMU 122 on the automobile 205 and the tail IMU 132 on the trailer 210 are used to measure pitches of the head tow hitch 230 and tow coupler 260. Under braking, the automobile 205 will pitch forward when insufficient trailer braking occurs, and the automobile 205 will pitch backwards when too much trailer braking is applied. With the dynamic pitch measurements from the head IMU 122 and the tail IMU 132, the control subsystem 115 dynamically maintains the relative pitch of both automobile 205 and trailer 210 within a designated pitch range so that the brakes 222 of the automobile 205 and the brakes 255 of the trailer 210 are applied correctly.
For instance, when the head controller 120 through the head IMU 122 detects an excessive forward pitch to the automobile 205, the head unit 116 sends an instruction to the tail unit 118 to apply greater braking force to the brakes 255 in the tail braking system 160. In another variation, when the tail controller 130 through the tail IMU 132 senses an excessive backward pitch of the trailer 210, which is indicative of under braking by the trailer 210, the tail controller 130 of the tail unit 118 can automatically (e.g., without instructions from the head unit 116) apply greater braking force to the brakes 255 of the trailer 210.”); detect a brake lockup event based on the first motion characteristic and the second motion characteristic, and in response to the difference exceeding the threshold; (See Viele paragraph 0181; “FIG. 7, a wheel speed sensor system 700 of the automobile-trailer system 200 includes a brake harness 705 with one or more brake harness wires 710 connected to each of the brakes 255… With the wheel diameter, the head controller 120 and/or tail controller 130 is able to estimate the speed of the individual trailer wheels 250. In one form, the tail controller 130 via the processor 610 determines the wheel speed and transmit the wheel speed data to the head controller 120. When the wheel diameter is unknown, the control subsystem 115 is still able to detect differences in wheel speed between the trailer wheels 250 and detect wheel lockup…”); wherein: during the brake lockup event one or more of the tractive elements cease rotating, if the first motion characteristic is a speed of the recreational vehicle and the second motion characteristic is a speed of one or more of the tractive elements, the brake lockup event occurs when the first motion characteristic is greater than the second motion characteristic; (See Viele paragraph 0190-0191; “Improper trailer braking can lead to dangerous driving conditions. However, determining how much brake force to apply to the brakes 255 of the trailer 210 is rather difficult. Some proposed designs require force sensors around the tow hitch which can be an expensive proposition, and these force sensors can be readily damaged. The control subsystem 115 described herein uses an indirect approach that is easy to retrofit to existing vehicles and is inexpensive. In this indirect technique, both the head IMU 122 on the automobile 205 and the tail IMU 132 on the trailer 210 are used to measure pitches of the head tow hitch 230 and tow coupler 260. Under braking, the automobile 205 will pitch forward when insufficient trailer braking occurs, and the automobile 205 will pitch backwards when too much trailer braking is applied. With the dynamic pitch measurements from the head IMU 122 and the tail IMU 132, the control subsystem 115 dynamically maintains the relative pitch of both automobile 205 and trailer 210 within a designated pitch range so that the brakes 222 of the automobile 205 and the brakes 255 of the trailer 210 are applied correctly.
For instance, when the head controller 120 through the head IMU 122 detects an excessive forward pitch to the automobile 205, the head unit 116 sends an instruction to the tail unit 118 to apply greater braking force to the brakes 255 in the tail braking system 160. In another variation, when the tail controller 130 through the tail IMU 132 senses an excessive backward pitch of the trailer 210, which is indicative of under braking by the trailer 210, the tail controller 130 of the tail unit 118 can automatically (e.g., without instructions from the head unit 116) apply greater braking force to the brakes 255 of the trailer 210.”); and if the first motion characteristic is a magnitude of an acceleration of the recreational vehicle and the second motion characteristic is a magnitude of an acceleration of the one or more tractive elements; (See Viele paragraph 0194 and 0185; “Locking of the brakes 255 in the trailer 210 can also be dangerous. When the brakes 255 of the trailer 210 lock, there is less brake force available. The control subsystem 115 is configured to use an anti-lock brake technique when the brakes 255 are locked. As noted above, one of the unique features of the tail unit 118 is the ability to independently control the force applied to each of the brakes 255 in the trailer 210. With this independent control capability, when an individual trailer wheel 250 locks up, the braking force applied to the brakes 255 for that trailer wheel 250 is reduced so that the trailer wheel 250 is no longer skidding. As should be recognized the tail unit 118 is able to reduce the braking force independently to multiple brakes 255 in the trailer 210 at the same time to eliminate lock up or skidding of the trailer wheels 250. As should be recognized, wheel lock up can be detected when the wheel speed sensors 265 and/or TPMS sensors 275 sense the trailer wheels 250 are not moving (i.e., have a speed of zero).
…Based on this information, the control subsystem 115 is able to switch between various braking characteristics. For instance, when the control subsystem 115 detects that the trailer 210 is on a dirt or slippery road, the control subsystem 115 can switch to a more aggressive braking mode for the trailer 210 so as to compensate for the longer stopping conditions.”); the brake lockup event occurs when the second motion characteristic is greater than the first motion characteristic; (See Viele paragraph 0181; “FIG. 7, a wheel speed sensor system 700 of the automobile-trailer system 200 includes a brake harness 705 with one or more brake harness wires 710 connected to each of the brakes 255… With the wheel diameter, the head controller 120 and/or tail controller 130 is able to estimate the speed of the individual trailer wheels 250. In one form, the tail controller 130 via the processor 610 determines the wheel speed and transmit the wheel speed data to the head controller 120. When the wheel diameter is unknown, the control subsystem 115 is still able to detect differences in wheel speed between the trailer wheels 250 and detect wheel lockup…”); and implement a countermeasure to mitigate the brake lockup event; (See Viele paragraph 0181-0182 and 0185; “…In one form, the tail controller 130 via the processor 610 determines the wheel speed and transmit the wheel speed data to the head controller 120. When the wheel diameter is unknown, the control subsystem 115 is still able to detect differences in wheel speed between the trailer wheels 250 and detect wheel lockup.
FIG. 8 shows another example of a TPMS system 800 which can be incorporated into the automobile-trailer system 200. Like in FIG. 7, the brake harness 705 with the brake harness wires 710 operatively connects the tail controller 130 to the brakes 255 so that the control subsystem 115 is able to independently control the brakes 255…
With both the wheel speed sensor system 700 of FIG. 7 and the TPMS system 800 of FIG. 8, the sensed wheel speed can be beneficially used in a wide variety of situations. For example, the control subsystem 115 can determine whether the automobile 205 is on a dirt, gravel, or paved road depending on the cycle to cycle variations in acceleration of the trailer wheels 250. When wheel slipping occurs, such as on dirt or gravel roads, the wheel acceleration dramatically changes. With these fluctuations of wheel acceleration, the head controller 120 and/or tail controller 130 is then able to determine the road type and/or road conditions (e.g., rain, snow, etc.). Based on this information, the control subsystem 115 is able to switch between various braking characteristics…”).
Both King and Viele are in the same field of system and methods for vehicle control. It would have been obvious for one ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of present invention to modify King a golf vehicle with Viele motion characteristics acquired by IMU and GPS. No new functionality would arise from the combination and the combination would improve usability of King by adding a golf vehicle which allows to collect data on the vehicle in real time to determine the vehicle breaking status. Further, finding that one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 18 King in view of Viele teaches the vehicle system of claim 17, King also teaches, further comprising the recreational vehicle, wherein the recreational vehicle includes; (See King paragraph 0045 and 0046; “FIG. 1 shows an example utility vehicle 20 … should be understood that the utility vehicle 20 has the form factor of a golf car…”); an electric motor; a motion sensor configured to acquire speed data or acceleration data regarding a speed or an acceleration of the electric motor; (See King paragraph 0069; “the controller 310 electrically couples with the electric motor 42, and current motor RPM (rotations per minute) is directly correlated to current vehicle velocity according to the gear ratio that links the electric motor 42 to the set of tires 24. Accordingly, current motor RPM may be considered an indicator of the current speed of the utility vehicle 20. Other vehicle velocity sensing mechanisms are suitable for use as well such as a set of wheel speed sensors, a set of ground speed sensors, combinations thereof, and so on.”).
King does not explicitly teach but Viele teaches, and an inertial measurement unit (IMU); wherein the first source is the motion sensor and the second source is the IMU; (See Viele paragraph 0154; “…FIG. 1, the tail unit 118 in the tail vehicle 110 includes a tail controller 130 and a tail IMU 132…“).
Both King and Viele are in the same field of system and methods for vehicle control. It would have been obvious for one ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of present invention to modify King a golf vehicle with Viele motion characteristics acquired by IMU and GPS. No new functionality would arise from the combination and the combination would improve usability of King by adding a golf vehicle which allows to collect data on the vehicle in real time to determine the vehicle breaking status. Further, finding that one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 19 King in view of Viele teaches, the vehicle system of claim 17, King further teaches, wherein the countermeasure includes at least one of (a) reducing a regenerative-braking torque by an electric motor of the recreational vehicle to or (b) reducing an available power to the electric motor; (See King paragraph 0051;” As shown in FIG. 2, the motor system 30 of the motion control system 26 includes a motor controller 40, an electric motor 42 which is linked to the set of tires 24 (FIG. 1), and an electric brake 44 coupled with the electric motor 42. The motor controller 40 controls delivery of stored electric power from the rechargeable battery system 32 to the electric motor 42 which ultimately turns at least some of the tires 24 to move the utility vehicle 20. In some embodiments, the motor controller 40 further controls delivery of regenerative power from the electric motor 42 back to the rechargeable battery system 32 (e.g., regenerative braking for battery recharging).
The electric brake 44 is constructed and arranged to provide mechanical resistance which inhibits turning of the electric motor 42 when the electric brake 44 is unpowered. The electric brake 44 is further constructed and arranged to remove the mechanical resistance thus releasing the electric motor 42 and allowing the electric motor 42 to turn when the electric brake 44 receives power.”).
Regarding claim 20 King teaches, a vehicle system comprising;(See King paragraph 0045; “…The utility vehicle 20 includes a utility vehicle body 22 (e.g., a chassis, a frame, etc.), a set of tires (or wheels) 24, and a motion control system 26…”);
determine a severity of traction loss based on the difference; determine a countermeasure based on the severity of traction loss; (See King paragraph 0069-0070; “…the controller 310 electrically couples with the electric motor 42, and current motor RPM (rotations per minute) is directly correlated to current vehicle velocity according to the gear ratio that links the electric motor 42 to the set of tires 24. Accordingly, current motor RPM may be considered an indicator of the current speed of the utility vehicle 20. Other vehicle velocity sensing mechanisms are suitable for use as well such as a set of wheel speed sensors, a set of ground speed sensors, combinations thereof, and so on.
During operation, the controller 310 may perform pulse-based emergency braking in response to an emergency brake trigger (or event) 320. For example, the controller 310 may determine that the utility vehicle 20 is exceeding a maximum predefined speed and consider that situation to be a fault condition requiring the utility vehicle 20 to reduce its speed or even stop. Other situations are suitable for use as an emergency brake trigger 320 as well such as detecting loss of regenerative braking, determining that the difference between the current vehicle speed and the expected vehicle speed (e.g., based on the current pedal deflection angle) exceeds a predefined threshold, and so on.”).
King does not explicitly teach but Viele teaches, a non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to; (See Viele paragraph 0233; “A controller may also be configured to accept input and output from a wide array of input and output devices for receiving or sending values. Such devices include other computers, keyboards, mice, visual displays, printers, industrial equipment, and systems or machinery of all types and sizes. For example, a controller can control a network or network interface to perform various network communications upon request. The network interface may be part of the controller, or characterized as separate and remote from the controller. A controller may be a single, physical, computing device such as a desktop computer, or a laptop computer, or may be composed of multiple devices of the same type such as a group of servers operating as one device in a networked cluster, or a heterogeneous combination of different computing devices operating as one controller and linked together by a communication network. The communication network connected to the controller may also be connected to a wider network such as the Internet. Thus a controller may include one or more physical processors or other computing devices or circuitry, and may also include any suitable type of memory. A controller may also be a virtual computing platform having an unknown or fluctuating number of physical processors and memories or memory devices. A controller may thus be physically located in one geographical location or physically spread across several widely scattered locations with multiple processors linked together by a communication network to operate as a single controller...”); acquire a first motion characteristic of a golf vehicle, the first motion characteristic acquired by an inertial measurement unit (IMU) of the golf vehicle; (See Viele paragraph 0154 and 0181; “ …the tail IMU 132 measures the orientation and acceleration of the tail vehicle 110 and provides this information to the tail controller 130. The tail IMU 132 can for example include one or more accelerometers and gyroscopes, but the tail IMU 132 can include other features such as a GPS. In one example, the tail IMU 132 is able to measure orientation and acceleration of the tail vehicle 110 along nine (9) axes… With the wheel diameter, the head controller 120 and/or tail controller 130 is able to estimate the speed of the individual trailer wheels 250. In one form, the tail controller 130 via the processor 610 determines the wheel speed and transmit the wheel speed data to the head controller 120…”); acquire a second motion characteristic of the golf vehicle, the second motion characteristic acquired by a sensor configured to measure a speed or an acceleration of an electric motor of the golf vehicle; (See Viele paragraph 0181; “FIG. 7, a wheel speed sensor system 700 of the automobile-trailer system 200 includes a brake harness 705 with one or more brake harness wires 710 connected to each of the brakes 255… With the wheel diameter, the head controller 120 and/or tail controller 130 is able to estimate the speed of the individual trailer wheels 250. In one form, the tail controller 130 via the processor 610 determines the wheel speed and transmit the wheel speed data to the head controller 120. When the wheel diameter is unknown, the control subsystem 115 is still able to detect differences in wheel speed between the trailer wheels 250 and detect wheel lockup…”); determine a difference between the first motion characteristic and the second motion characteristic; compare the difference to a threshold; detect a brake lockup event based on the difference exceeding the threshold; (See Viele paragraph 0190-0191; “Improper trailer braking can lead to dangerous driving conditions. However, determining how much brake force to apply to the brakes 255 of the trailer 210 is rather difficult. Some proposed designs require force sensors around the tow hitch which can be an expensive proposition, and these force sensors can be readily damaged. The control subsystem 115 described herein uses an indirect approach that is easy to retrofit to existing vehicles and is inexpensive. In this indirect technique, both the head IMU 122 on the automobile 205 and the tail IMU 132 on the trailer 210 are used to measure pitches of the head tow hitch 230 and tow coupler 260. Under braking, the automobile 205 will pitch forward when insufficient trailer braking occurs, and the automobile 205 will pitch backwards when too much trailer braking is applied. With the dynamic pitch measurements from the head IMU 122 and the tail IMU 132, the control subsystem 115 dynamically maintains the relative pitch of both automobile 205 and trailer 210 within a designated pitch range so that the brakes 222 of the automobile 205 and the brakes 255 of the trailer 210 are applied correctly.
For instance, when the head controller 120 through the head IMU 122 detects an excessive forward pitch to the automobile 205, the head unit 116 sends an instruction to the tail unit 118 to apply greater braking force to the brakes 255 in the tail braking system 160. In another variation, when the tail controller 130 through the tail IMU 132 senses an excessive backward pitch of the trailer 210, which is indicative of under braking by the trailer 210, the tail controller 130 of the tail unit 118 can automatically (e.g., without instructions from the head unit 116) apply greater braking force to the brakes 255 of the trailer 210.”); wherein during the brake lockup event one or more of tractive elements of the golf vehicle cease rotating and slide; (See Viele paragraph 0181; “FIG. 7, a wheel speed sensor system 700 of the automobile-trailer system 200 includes a brake harness 705 with one or more brake harness wires 710 connected to each of the brakes 255… With the wheel diameter, the head controller 120 and/or tail controller 130 is able to estimate the speed of the individual trailer wheels 250. In one form, the tail controller 130 via the processor 610 determines the wheel speed and transmit the wheel speed data to the head controller 120. When the wheel diameter is unknown, the control subsystem 115 is still able to detect differences in wheel speed between the trailer wheels 250 and detect wheel lockup…”); and implement a countermeasure to mitigate the brake lockup event; (See Viele paragraph 0181-0182 and 0185; “…In one form, the tail controller 130 via the processor 610 determines the wheel speed and transmit the wheel speed data to the head controller 120. When the wheel diameter is unknown, the control subsystem 115 is still able to detect differences in wheel speed between the trailer wheels 250 and detect wheel lockup.
FIG. 8 shows another example of a TPMS system 800 which can be incorporated into the automobile-trailer system 200. Like in FIG. 7, the brake harness 705 with the brake harness wires 710 operatively connects the tail controller 130 to the brakes 255 so that the control subsystem 115 is able to independently control the brakes 255…
With both the wheel speed sensor system 700 of FIG. 7 and the TPMS system 800 of FIG. 8, the sensed wheel speed can be beneficially used in a wide variety of situations. For example, the control subsystem 115 can determine whether the automobile 205 is on a dirt, gravel, or paved road depending on the cycle to cycle variations in acceleration of the trailer wheels 250. When wheel slipping occurs, such as on dirt or gravel roads, the wheel acceleration dramatically changes. With these fluctuations of wheel acceleration, the head controller 120 and/or tail controller 130 is then able to determine the road type and/or road conditions (e.g., rain, snow, etc.). Based on this information, the control subsystem 115 is able to switch between various braking characteristics…”); and implement the countermeasure to mitigate the brake lockup event, wherein the countermeasure includes reducing a regenerative-braking torque by the electric motor of the golf vehicle; (See Viele paragraph 0181-0182 and 0185; “…In one form, the tail controller 130 via the processor 610 determines the wheel speed and transmit the wheel speed data to the head controller 120. When the wheel diameter is unknown, the control subsystem 115 is still able to detect differences in wheel speed between the trailer wheels 250 and detect wheel lockup.
FIG. 8 shows another example of a TPMS system 800 which can be incorporated into the automobile-trailer system 200. Like in FIG. 7, the brake harness 705 with the brake harness wires 710 operatively connects the tail controller 130 to the brakes 255 so that the control subsystem 115 is able to independently control the brakes 255…
With both the wheel speed sensor system 700 of FIG. 7 and the TPMS system 800 of FIG. 8, the sensed wheel speed can be beneficially used in a wide variety of situations. For example, the control subsystem 115 can determine whether the automobile 205 is on a dirt, gravel, or paved road depending on the cycle to cycle variations in acceleration of the trailer wheels 250. When wheel slipping occurs, such as on dirt or gravel roads, the wheel acceleration dramatically changes. With these fluctuations of wheel acceleration, the head controller 120 and/or tail controller 130 is then able to determine the road type and/or road conditions (e.g., rain, snow, etc.). Based on this information, the control subsystem 115 is able to switch between various braking characteristics…”).
Both King and Viele are in the same field of system and methods for vehicle control. It would have been obvious for one ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of present invention to modify King a golf vehicle with Viele motion characteristics acquired by IMU and GPS. No new functionality would arise from the combination and the combination would improve usability of King by adding a golf vehicle which allows to collect data on the vehicle in real time to determine the vehicle breaking status. Further, finding that one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Claims 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over King (Patent No. US20220266806A1) in view of Viele (Patent No. US20190217831A1) and Wang (Patent No. US20240208506A1).
Regarding claim 16 King in view of Viele teaches, the golf vehicle of claim 1, King does not explicitly teach but Wang teaches, wherein the prime mover includes an electric motor, wherein the control system includes a motor controller coupled to the electric motor, and wherein the IMU is integrated into the motor controller; (See Wang paragraph 0041 and 0042; “The attribute detector 104 can determine the torque of the motor using a torque sensor associated with the motor. The motor can be an electric motor, in which case the torque of the motor can be based on the electrical power input, such as the voltage and current in the power line driving the motor. The attribute detector 104 can measure or determine the speed of the motor of the vehicle using one or more sensors associated with the electric motor, or based on other measurements associated with the electric motor. For the speed of the electric motor can refer to the rotations per minute of the electric motor, and can be determined based on the frequency of the electric motor. The attribute detector 104 can determine the steering angle, which can refer to the angle at which the steering wheel is rotated. The attribute detector 104 can determine the steering angle using a steering wheel sensor, for example. The attribute detector 104 can determine a yaw rate of the vehicle using one or more sensors, such as gyroscope or IMU of the vehicle.
The attribute detector 104 can determine the steering angle, which can refer to the angle at which the steering wheel is rotated. The attribute detector 104 can determine the steering angle using a steering wheel sensor, for example. The attribute detector 104 can determine a yaw rate of the vehicle using one or more sensors, such as gyroscope or IMU of the vehicle.”).
Both King and Wang are in the same field of system and methods for vehicle control. It would have been obvious for one ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of present invention to modify King a golf vehicle with Wang electric motor and motor controller. No new functionality would arise from the combination and the combination would improve usability of King by adding electric motor and motor controller. Further, finding that one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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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/L.K./ Examiner, Art Unit 3666
/SCOTT A BROWNE/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3666
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