DETAILED ACTION
Response to Amendment
This office action regarding application number 18/832,101, filed July 23, 2024, is in response to the applicants arguments and amendments filed January 9, 2026. Claim 1 has been amended. Claims 9-10 have been cancelled. New Claim 11 has been added. Claims 1-8 and 11 are currently pending and are addressed below.
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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed on 11/26/2025 is being considered by the examiner.
Response to Arguments
The applicants arguments and amendments to the application have overcome some of the objections and rejections previously set forth in the Non-Final action mailed October 31, 2025. Claims 9-10 have been cancelled and therefore all associated objections and rejections are withdrawn. Applicants amended drawings submitted 1/14/2026 have been deemed sufficient to overcome the previous objections through the inclusion of descriptive text labels, therefore the objections are withdrawn. Applicants amendments to claim 1 have been deemed sufficient to overcome the previous objections through the removal of the objected language, therefore the objections are withdrawn.
However, Applicants amendments to claim 1 have NOT been deemed sufficient to overcome the previous 35 USC 103 rejections through the inclusion of “wherein the drive train is a hybrid drive train in which the electric motor is directly connected to the internal combustion engine to provide a drive torque in addition to a drive torque provided by the internal combustion engine,” these limitations are found to be taught by the Hao and Aoki, therefore the rejections are maintained with changes to reflect amendments. Additionally the applicants arguments have been fully considered but are not fully persuasive for the reasons seen below.
On pages 5-6 the applicant argues “Hao is generally directed to a hybrid vehicle engine starter control system and method, and Aoki is generally directed to an apparatus and control method for driving an oil-pump motor. However, any combination of Hao and Aoki fails to teach wherein the drive train is a hybrid drive train in which the electric motor is directly connected to the internal combustion engine to provide a drive torque in addition to the internal combustion engine, as generally recited in amended claim 1. In the present Office Action, the Examiner interpreted FIG. 1 of Hao as teaching a hybrid drive train. Applicant respectfully disagrees, as FIG. 1 of Hao is merely a schematic view and not a structural view. (Hao at [0012]). Otherwise, Hao only teaches an electric motor connected "to a flywheel portion of the engine through a geared mechanical connection" or "to a crank pulley through a toothed belt mechanical connection." (Id. at [0030]). Aoki does not teach a hybrid vehicle drive train as claimed. Therefore, Applicant submits that any combination of Hao and Aoki fails to teach, suggest, or otherwise render obvious all of the features of amended claim 1, as amended, such that amended claim 1 should be allowable.”, the examiner respectfully disagrees.
MPEP 2142-2144 discusses the requirements for a case of obviousness using 35 USC 103 and provides examples of such cases. MPEP 2111 discusses Broadest Reasonable Interpretation and the interpretation of claims.
To address the applicants arguments, first the examiner must determine the meaning of the use of “directly”, referring to the applicants specification, the specification recites in at least paragraph [0030], “The hybrid drive train 34 comprises a P1-hybrid structure 38 in which the electric motor 12 is directly connected to the internal combustion engine 36.”, the applicants specification provides no further clarification on any special meaning of the word directly. Applicants drawings include Figure 3 which simply shows the combustion engine connected to the electric motor with a line.
As discussed in the rejections below Hao teaches a method for starting up an internal combustion engine in a drive train using an electric motor (Abstract, “A system includes an electric machine coupled to an engine and configured to start the engine from an inactive state.”), Figure 1 of Hao shows an electric motor connected to an internal combustion engine, there is no evidence in either the figures or the specification of Hao to indicate that the electric motor is not directly connected to the engine, in fact the drawings of Hao show the same amount of detail as the instant specification. The electric motor of Hao is connected to the engine in such a way that torque is directly transferred to the engine in order to perform a starting operation. Therefore it is reasonable to interpret Hao as teaching a directly connected electric motor and engine.
If the applicant intends a different meaning of the word “directly” the explicit definition including any specific structure intended to indicate a direct connection should be included in the claims, pending support in the specification so as to avoid any New Matter issues.
Therefore the combination of Hao and Aoki teaches wherein the drive train is a hybrid drive train in which the electric motor is directly connected to the internal combustion engine, the rejections under 35 USC 103 are maintained.
On pages 6-7 the applicant argues “Specifically, Applicant contends that Aoki does not teach wherein the starting process is preceded by an angle detection step. Aoki is generally directed to an apparatus and control method for driving an oil-pump motor. Aoki further teaches "calculating a phase error between an actual rotational position of the rotor and an imaginary rotational position by comparing the d-axis current Id with a d-axis current command value Idref and comparing the q-axis current Iq with the d-axis current command value Idref." (Aoki at Abstract; emphasis added). However, according to Aoki, this phase error calculation is "indirectly obtained from an induced voltage," which is "a function of a motor angular speed (an electrical angle) o [rad/sec] and an induced voltage constant KE [V/(rad/sec)] (i.e., expressed as'e=KExw')." (Id. at [0037] and [0042]; emphasis added). Logically, it follows that induced voltage is zero at zero angular speed. Aoki further teaches that the induced voltage must be sufficiently large to accurately detect the phase/current error, and that a decrease in motor angular speed may result in an induced voltage that is too low. (See id. at [0063]). In contrast, claim 6 recites wherein the starting process is preceded by an angle detection step. Regarding the starting process, as generally recited in amended claim 1, from which claim 6 depends, a rotor rotational speed of the rotor is increased from a resting rotor in the starting process. Therefore, Applicant submits that Hao in view of Aoki does not disclose or render obvious all of the features of claim 6, for these reasons in addition to the reasons discussed above with respect to amended claim 1, and respectfully requests withdrawal of the rejection of claim 6.”, the examiner respectfully disagrees.
MPEP 2142-2144 discusses the requirements for a case of obviousness using 35 USC 103 and provides examples of such cases. MPEP 2111 discusses Broadest Reasonable Interpretation and the interpretation of claims.
As discussed in the rejections below Aoki teaches the system is determining a position of the brushless motor before the start up process allowing improved control immediately after start up (Paragraph [0066], “open-loop control for the d-axis current Id may be performed upon start-up of the brushless motor. Note that a method for performing open-loop control for the d-axis current Id is well known. For example, Patent Literature 2 discloses such a method. Therefore, it is not explained here in detail. In the above embodiments, by performing open-loop control for the d-axis current Id upon start-up of the brushless motor, the accurate position of the rotor at the start-up can be obtained, thus making it possible to further improve the accuracy for estimating the position of the rotor in the low speed operation immediately after the start-up. As a result, it is possible to control the driving of the brushless motor in the low speed operation immediately after the start-up in a more stable manner,”). Here Aoki is performing open loop control up start-up of the brushless motor, and the accurate position/angle detection of the rotor at the start-up is obtained.
Therefore the combination of Hao and Aoki teaches wherein the starting process is preceded by an angle detection step in which a rotational position of the rotor is detected with respect to the stator, the rejections under 35 USC 103 are maintained.
On pages 7-8 the applicant argues “With regard to the Examiner's rejection of claim 7, Applicant additionally contends that Hao in view of Aoki fails to disclose or render obvious all of the features recited in claim 7. Specifically, Applicant contends that Aoki at least does not teach wherein the angle detection step is carried out by applying an alternative voltage in an assumed d-direction, as generally recited in claim 7. Aoki is generally directed to an apparatus and control method for driving an oil-pump motor. As noted by the Examiner, Aoki also teaches detecting a rotor position "by comparing the d-axis current Id with a d-axis current command value Idref and comparing the q-axis current Iq with the d-axis current command value Idref." (Id. at [0024]). Aoki also teaches "voltage command values." (Id.). Regarding the voltage command values, Aoki merely describes a "d-axis voltage command value Vd" as well as a "q-axis voltage command value Vq" that are calculated by performing PI control to effectuate the current command values Idref and Iqref. (Id. at [0030]). Aoki does not describe these command values (Vd, Vq, Idref, Iqref) as alternating values. The Examiner also acknowledged paragraph [0028] of Aoki, where voltage command values are described as calculated by and output from a control unit in a vector-control-type, 180-degree energized sine-wave driving method. Applicant respectfully submits that these voltage command values described in paragraph [0028] of Aoki are on/off signals controlling stator phase voltages, and not an alternating voltage in an assumed d-direction, as generally recited in claim 7. (See id. at [0028], [0029], and FIG. 2).”, the examiner respectfully disagrees.
MPEP 2142-2144 discusses the requirements for a case of obviousness using 35 USC 103 and provides examples of such cases. MPEP 2111 discusses Broadest Reasonable Interpretation and the interpretation of claims.
As discussed in the rejections below Aoki teaches applying an alternating voltage (Paragraph [0024], “The control unit 14 calculates a phase error between an actual rotational position of the rotor 16 and an imaginary rotational position thereof by comparing the d-axis current Id with a d-axis current command value Idref and comparing the q-axis current Iq with the d-axis current command value Idref.”) (Paragraph [0028], “That is, the control unit 114 calculates voltage command values indicating voltages to be applied to respective phases of the brushless motor 111 in a vector-control-type sensor-less method in 180-degree energized sine-wave driving and outputs the calculated voltage command values to the motor drive circuit 112.”) here the system is using command values (Vd, Vq, Idref, Iqref), while these command values are not directly described as alternating values, Paragraph [0028] of Aoki further teaches where voltage command values are described as calculated by and output from a control unit in a vector-control-type, 180-degree energized sine-wave driving method, a 180 degree sine wave is an alternating current wave form, therefore these command values are alternating.
Therefore the combination of Hao and Aoki teaches wherein the angle detection step is carried out by applying an alternating voltage, the rejections under 35 USC 103 are maintained.
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 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 1-7 and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hao (US-20180266379) in view of Aoki (US-20180337620).
Regarding claim 1, Hao teaches a method for starting up an internal combustion engine in a drive train (Abstract, “A system includes an electric machine coupled to an engine and configured to start the engine from an inactive state.”)
using a torque of a multi-pole electric motor (Paragraph [0037], “According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the second electric machine 40 is a brushless permanent magnet DC motor coupled to the engine 12 to provide a starting torque to restart the engine 12.”)
which is connected to transmit torque to the internal combustion engine (Paragraph [0030], “The second electric machine 40 may be connected to a flywheel portion of the engine through a geared mechanical connection to pass torque to the crankshaft to start the engine.”)
and has a rotor that can be rotated relative to a stator (Paragraph [0041], “The phase advance angle is the angle (in electrical degrees) between the rotating magnetic field caused by excitation of stator windings and the rotating magnetic field due to the permanent magnets of the rotor.”)
wherein a rotor rotational speed of the rotor is increased from a resting rotor (Paragraph [0032], “When the engine is restarted, it may be restarted from substantially zero rotational speed, or from a speed which is significantly less than the rotational speed of the downstream powertrain components such as the first electric machine 20.”) (Paragraph [0036], “The additional rotational inertia of the rotor may cause a higher duration of time to reach a desired rotational speed from rest.”)
and, during this starting process of the rotor in D-direction, a first excitation voltage is applied at the electric motor (Paragraph [0034], “Therefore brushed-contact starter motor systems commonly include a second solenoid to actuate a mechanical connection to an electrical terminal to provide power. When it is desired to start the engine, the first solenoid and second solenoid must both be actuated. In many instances the actuation must be performed sequentially. For example, the second solenoid may be actuated to provide power to allow the starter motor to build up rotational speed.”)
which is greater than a comparison excitation voltage by an electrical additional voltage which is applied under the same conditions at the electric motor during a starting process of the electric motor omitting a starting-up of the internal combustion engine (Paragraph [0034], “Therefore brushed-contact starter motor systems commonly include a second solenoid to actuate a mechanical connection to an electrical terminal to provide power. When it is desired to start the engine, the first solenoid and second solenoid must both be actuated. In many instances the actuation must be performed sequentially. For example, the second solenoid may be actuated to provide power to allow the starter motor to build up rotational speed. Then the first solenoid may be actuated to mechanically engage the starter motor output to the engine to facilitate the start event.”) (Paragraph [0035], “When the engine is started, a temporary voltage drop is caused by the power load of the starter motor … For example an additional DC-DC boost converter may be provided to temporarily step up the voltage to mask potential symptoms related to a voltage drop caused by the starter motor. Alternatively, a second power source may be provided to supplement the battery and compensate for a voltage drop,” here the system first actuates the starter motor to build up speed and the system then sequentially engages the solenoid in order to start the engine, the system may use a boost converter to step up voltage or use an additional power source to provide a greater excitation voltage which is applied only while starting the internal combustion engine)
wherein the drive train is a hybrid drive train in which the electric motor is directly connected to the internal combustion engine to provide a drive torque in addition to a drive torque provided by the internal combustion engine (Paragraph [0020], “Referring to FIG. 1, a vehicle 10 is provided. By way of example, vehicle 10 is a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) having a powertrain with both a petrol propulsion source and an electric propulsion source. Either or both of the propulsion sources may be selectively activated to provide propulsion based on the vehicle operating conditions.”) (See figure 1 showing the combustion engine directly connected to the electric motor).
However Hao does not explicitly teach the system is encoderlessly operated, and to which a corotating qd-coordinate system is assigned.
Aoki teaches a drive apparatus for a brushless electric motor including using a plurality of voltage commands including
the motor operated without an encoder (EXAMINERS NOTE: According to page 2 of the instant specification “Encoderless operation is understood to mean operation without taking into account a rotor position measured with a sensor, for example a position sensor”) (Paragraph [0007], “According to the above-described embodiment, it is possible to control driving of an oil-pump brushless motor in a stable manner by a vector-control sensor-less method even when the brushless motor is rotating at a low speed.”)
and to which a corotating qd-coordinate system is assigned (Paragraph [0024], “The control unit 14 converts the detected multi-phase currents into a d-axis current Id and a q-axis current Iq in a d-q coordinate system.”)
during this starting process of the rotor in D-direction, a first excitation voltage is applied at the electric motor (See Figures 5 and 7 showing an excitation voltage that is applied to the motor that is greater than the reference value) (Paragraph [0043], “when the number of revolutions (e.g., the number of revolutions per minute) of the rotor 116 in the brushless motor 111 is smaller than a predetermined number of revolutions (e.g., 300 rpm), the d-axis current command value Idref is set to a value larger than zero. In this way, a positive current flows as the d-axis current Id and hence the induced voltage e can be increased.”).
Hao and Aoki are analogous art as they are both generally related to control strategies for electric motors.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to include wherein the system is operated without an encoder, and to which a corotating qd-coordinate system is assigned of Aoki in the system for starting an electric motor of Hao with a reasonable expectation of success in order to improve the accuracy of the position estimating of the rotor of the electric motor (Paragraph [0066], “In the above embodiments, by performing open-loop control for the d-axis current Id upon start-up of the brushless motor, the accurate position of the rotor at the start-up can be obtained, thus making it possible to further improve the accuracy for estimating the position of the rotor in the low speed operation immediately after the start-up. As a result, it is possible to control the driving of the brushless motor in the low speed operation immediately after the start-up in a more stable manner.”).
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Hao and Aoki teaches the system as discussed above in claim 1, Aoki further teaches wherein the additional voltage is set during the starting process regardless of the rotor rotational speed (See Figures 5 and 7 showing an excitation voltage that is applied to the motor that is greater than the reference value, Figure 5 shows that the additional voltage is constant even as the number of revolutions increases).
Hao and Aoki are analogous art as they are both generally related to control strategies for electric motors.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to include wherein the additional voltage is set during the starting process regardless of the rotor rotational speed of Aoki in the system for starting an electric motor of Hao with a reasonable expectation of success in order to improve the accuracy of the position estimating of the rotor of the electric motor (Paragraph [0066], “In the above embodiments, by performing open-loop control for the d-axis current Id upon start-up of the brushless motor, the accurate position of the rotor at the start-up can be obtained, thus making it possible to further improve the accuracy for estimating the position of the rotor in the low speed operation immediately after the start-up. As a result, it is possible to control the driving of the brushless motor in the low speed operation immediately after the start-up in a more stable manner.”).
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Hao and Aoki teaches the system as discussed above in claim 1, Aoki further teaches wherein an amount of the additional voltage is set depending on the rotor rotational speed (See Figures 5 and 7 showing an excitation voltage that is applied to the motor that is greater than the reference value, Figure 7 shows that the additional voltage is decreasing as the number of revolutions increases).
Hao and Aoki are analogous art as they are both generally related to control strategies for electric motors.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to include wherein an amount of the additional voltage is set depending on the rotor rotational speed of Aoki in the system for starting an electric motor of Hao with a reasonable expectation of success in order to improve the accuracy of the position estimating of the rotor of the electric motor (Paragraph [0066], “In the above embodiments, by performing open-loop control for the d-axis current Id upon start-up of the brushless motor, the accurate position of the rotor at the start-up can be obtained, thus making it possible to further improve the accuracy for estimating the position of the rotor in the low speed operation immediately after the start-up. As a result, it is possible to control the driving of the brushless motor in the low speed operation immediately after the start-up in a more stable manner.”).
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Hao and Aoki teaches the system as discussed above in claim 1, Aoki further teaches wherein the additional voltage is discontinued when a speed threshold of the rotor rotational speed is reached (See Figures 5 and 7 showing an excitation voltage that is applied to the motor that is greater than the reference value, this additional excitation voltage is discontinued when the target rotational speed is reached).
Hao and Aoki are analogous art as they are both generally related to control strategies for electric motors.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to include wherein the additional voltage is discontinued when a speed threshold of the rotor rotational speed is reached of Aoki in the system for starting an electric motor of Hao with a reasonable expectation of success in order to improve the accuracy of the position estimating of the rotor of the electric motor (Paragraph [0066], “In the above embodiments, by performing open-loop control for the d-axis current Id upon start-up of the brushless motor, the accurate position of the rotor at the start-up can be obtained, thus making it possible to further improve the accuracy for estimating the position of the rotor in the low speed operation immediately after the start-up. As a result, it is possible to control the driving of the brushless motor in the low speed operation immediately after the start-up in a more stable manner.”).
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Hao and Aoki teaches the system as discussed above in claim 1, Hao further teaches wherein the electric motor is operated at rotor rotational speeds greater than the speed threshold by a regulation mode (Paragraph [0003], “A controller is programmed to execute a first control algorithm while an output speed of the electric machine is less than a first speed threshold. The controller is also programmed to execute a second control algorithm while the output speed is greater than the first speed threshold and less than a second speed threshold, as well as a third control algorithm while the output speed is greater than the second speed threshold.”).
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Hao and Aoki teaches the system as discussed above in claim 1, Aoki further teaches wherein the starting process is preceded by an angle detection step in which a rotational position of the rotor is detected with respect to the stator (Paragraph [0006], “The control unit converts the detected multi-phase currents into a d-axis current Id and a q-axis current Iq in a d-q coordinate system, calculates a phase error between an actual rotational position of the rotor and an imaginary rotational position thereof by comparing the d-axis current Id with a d-axis current command value Idref and comparing the q-axis current Iq with the d-axis current command value Idref, and performs control so that the phase error gets closer to zero, the d-q coordinate system including a d-axis parallel to a direction of a magnetic flux generated by a magnet of the rotor and a q-axis orthogonal to the d-axis and being defined so as to rotate together with the rotor. Then, the control unit outputs voltage command values to a motor drive circuit, the voltage command values indicating voltages to be applied to respective phases of the brushless motor. Further, the control unit sets the d-axis current command value Idref to a value larger than zero when the number of revolutions of the brushless motor is smaller than a predetermined number of revolutions,“ here the system is determining the position and phase error prior to outputting voltage command values) (Paragraph [0066], “open-loop control for the d-axis current Id may be performed upon start-up of the brushless motor. Note that a method for performing open-loop control for the d-axis current Id is well known. For example, Patent Literature 2 discloses such a method. Therefore, it is not explained here in detail. In the above embodiments, by performing open-loop control for the d-axis current Id upon start-up of the brushless motor, the accurate position of the rotor at the start-up can be obtained, thus making it possible to further improve the accuracy for estimating the position of the rotor in the low speed operation immediately after the start-up. As a result, it is possible to control the driving of the brushless motor in the low speed operation immediately after the start-up in a more stable manner,” here the system is determining a position of the brushless motor before the start up process allowing improved control immediately after start up).
Hao and Aoki are analogous art as they are both generally related to control strategies for electric motors.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to include wherein the starting process is preceded by an angle detection step in which a rotational position of the rotor is detected with respect to the stator of Aoki in the system for starting an electric motor of Hao with a reasonable expectation of success in order to improve the accuracy of the position estimating of the rotor of the electric motor (Paragraph [0066], “In the above embodiments, by performing open-loop control for the d-axis current Id upon start-up of the brushless motor, the accurate position of the rotor at the start-up can be obtained, thus making it possible to further improve the accuracy for estimating the position of the rotor in the low speed operation immediately after the start-up. As a result, it is possible to control the driving of the brushless motor in the low speed operation immediately after the start-up in a more stable manner.”).
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Hao and Aoki teaches the system as discussed above in claim 1, Aoki further teaches wherein the angle detection step is carried out by applying an alternating voltage in an assumed d-direction (Paragraph [0024], “The control unit 14 calculates a phase error between an actual rotational position of the rotor 16 and an imaginary rotational position thereof by comparing the d-axis current Id with a d-axis current command value Idref and comparing the q-axis current Iq with the d-axis current command value Idref.”) (Paragraph [0028], “That is, the control unit 114 calculates voltage command values indicating voltages to be applied to respective phases of the brushless motor 111 in a vector-control-type sensor-less method in 180-degree energized sine-wave driving and outputs the calculated voltage command values to the motor drive circuit 112.”)
then a current response thereto is detected in a dq-coordinate system by generating a first current response in relation to a first direction (Paragraph [0024], “The control unit 14 calculates a phase error between an actual rotational position of the rotor 16 and an imaginary rotational position thereof by comparing the d-axis current Id with a d-axis current command value Idref and comparing the q-axis current Iq with the d-axis current command value Idref,” here the system is detecting a current response with a current command)
which is offset by a difference angle with respect to the assumed d-direction in the dq-coordinate system (Paragraph [0024], “The control unit 14 calculates a phase error between an actual rotational position of the rotor 16 and an imaginary rotational position thereof by comparing the d-axis current Id with a d-axis current command value Idref and comparing the q-axis current Iq with the d-axis current command value Idref,” here the offset is the phase error with is an angle different between the rotational position and the imaginary rotational position)
with a second current response with respect to a second direction which is offset by the difference angle with respect to the assumed d-direction in the dq-coordinate system opposite to the first direction and compared (Paragraph [0024], “The control unit 14 calculates a phase error between an actual rotational position of the rotor 16 and an imaginary rotational position thereof by comparing the d-axis current Id with a d-axis current command value Idref and comparing the q-axis current Iq with the d-axis current command value Idref,” here an angle difference between the rotational position and the imaginary rotational position using a second response/q axis with respect to the assumed d direction)
and the assumed d-direction is approximated to the actual d-direction depending on this comparison (Paragraph [0036], “In the drive control for a brushless motor based on the vector-control-type sensor-less method, a deviation (a phase error) between an actual rotational position of a rotor and an imaginary rotational position of the rotor that is assumed in the control process is estimated. Then, the imaginary rotational position is corrected so that the phase error becomes zero.”).
Hao and Aoki are analogous art as they are both generally related to control strategies for electric motors.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to include wherein the angle detection step is carried out by applying an alternating voltage in an assumed d-direction then a current response thereto is detected in a dq-coordinate system by generating a first current response in relation to a first direction which is offset by a difference angle with respect to the assumed d-direction in the dq-coordinate system with a second current response with respect to a second direction which is offset by the difference angle with respect to the assumed d-direction in the dq-coordinate system opposite to the first direction and compared and the assumed d-direction is approximated to the actual d-direction depending on this comparison of Aoki in the system for starting an electric motor of Hao with a reasonable expectation of success in order to improve the accuracy of the position estimating of the rotor of the electric motor (Paragraph [0066], “In the above embodiments, by performing open-loop control for the d-axis current Id upon start-up of the brushless motor, the accurate position of the rotor at the start-up can be obtained, thus making it possible to further improve the accuracy for estimating the position of the rotor in the low speed operation immediately after the start-up. As a result, it is possible to control the driving of the brushless motor in the low speed operation immediately after the start-up in a more stable manner.”).
Regarding claim 11, the combination of Hao and Aoki teaches the system as discussed above in claim 1, Hao further teaches, wherein the hybrid drive train has a P1-hybrid structure (EXAMINERS NOTE: Here the examiner is referring to the specification for the P1 structure, the specification recites in at least paragraph [0030], “The hybrid drive train 34 comprises a P1-hybrid structure 38 in which the electric motor 12 is directly connected to the internal combustion engine 36.”, Figure 3 of the instant application simply shows the combustion engine connected to the electric motor with a line, therefore the examiner is interpreting a P1-Hybrid structure according to the specification in which the electric motor is connected to the internal combustion engine) (Paragraph [0020], “Referring to FIG. 1, a vehicle 10 is provided. By way of example, vehicle 10 is a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) having a powertrain with both a petrol propulsion source and an electric propulsion source. Either or both of the propulsion sources may be selectively activated to provide propulsion based on the vehicle operating conditions.”) (See figure 1 showing the combustion engine directly connected to the electric motor).
Claim 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hao (US-20180266379) in view of Aoki (US-20180337620)and further in view of Imai (US-20050029972).
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Hao and Aoki teaches the system as discussed above in claim 1, however while Hao teaches monitoring the speed of various system components (Paragraph [0032], “When the engine is restarted, it may be restarted from substantially zero rotational speed, or from a speed which is significantly less than the rotational speed of the downstream powertrain components such as the first electric machine 20. The controller 36 may implement a delay following the initial restart of the engine 12 to allow engine speed to ramp up to be within a predetermined range of the system speed prior to closing the clutch 16. Reducing the difference between engine speed and speed of the downstream components improves the smoothness of the engagement of the clutch 16 and reduces NVH perceived by a passenger related to the engine restart event.”).
The combination does not explicitly teach wherein the rotor rotational speed is detected at least during the starting up of the internal combustion engine by a comparison with an engine speed of the internal combustion engine.
Imai teaches a control apparatus for a brushless DC motor that rotatably drives the brushless DC motor including a rotor having a permanent magnet, and a stator having stator windings including
wherein the rotor rotational speed is detected at least during the starting up of the internal combustion engine by a comparison with an engine speed of the internal combustion engine (Paragraph [0133], “For example, when the brushless DC motor is included in a hybrid vehicle as a drive source together with an internal combustion engine, the revolution speed measuring device can measure the angular velocity of the rotor based on an output from the engine revolution speed sensor that measures the revolution speed of the internal combustion engine, thus allowing the device configuration to be simplified.”).
Hao, Aoki, and Imai are analogous art as they are both generally related to control strategies for electric motors.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to include wherein the rotor rotational speed is detected at least during the starting up of the internal combustion engine by a comparison with an engine speed of the internal combustion engine of Imai in the system for starting an electric motor of Hao and Aoki with a reasonable expectation of success in order to simplify the configuration of the system (Paragraph [0133], “For example, when the brushless DC motor is included in a hybrid vehicle as a drive source together with an internal combustion engine, the revolution speed measuring device can measure the angular velocity of the rotor based on an output from the engine revolution speed sensor that measures the revolution speed of the internal combustion engine, thus allowing the device configuration to be simplified.”).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Namuduri (US-20190323473) teaches a starter for an internal combustion engine including that the vehicle may be a hybrid vehicle with an electric propulsion source for providing drive torque. Holmes (US-20160059711) teaches a multi component power train system including a plurality of electric motors and an internal combustion engine that are connected. Shimakami (US-9919695) teaches a hybrid vehicle in which the engine is started based on a series of conditions.
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
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/CHRISTOPHER GEORGE FEES/Examiner, Art Unit 3662