DETAILED ACTION
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed on 12/30/25 has been entered
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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 11 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a1) as being anticipated by Golzer (US Patent No. 5,339,782).
Regarding claim 11, Golzer teaches A drive system for a vehicle, comprising an accelerator pedal (50 figure 1) having an associated accelerator pedal control unit (40 figure 1) which carries out a driving task when the driver actuates the accelerator pedal, wherein the accelerator pedal control unit (40 figure 1) is connected as a transmitter control unit (40 transmits signals from 50 to 10, 12, 14) to an assistance control unit (10, 14, 12 figure 1 column 3 line 55-67) as a receiver control unit which carries out a driver-independent, automated driving task (10, 12 figure 1 column 2 line 30-40 throttle flap fuel metering), wherein the assistance control unit (10, 12 ,14 figure 1) in particular deactivates the driver-independent, automated driving task when a valid kickdown actuation by the driver is present (column 4 line 5-15 passing operation of vehicle on highway power doesn’t drop; one sensor operational) , wherein for reliable detection of a pedal actuation, in particular a valid kickdown actuation as a driver takeover request, the accelerator pedal is assigned two accelerator pedal sensors (A1 and A2 PWG 1 and 2 44, 46 figure 1 column 3 line 60-column 4 line 20), which independently of one another each acquire a first accelerator pedal raw value ((A1) 100 figure 2) and a second accelerator pedal raw value (A2 102 figure 2), that the first accelerator pedal sensor (44 figure 1) is connected via a first signal path (48 figure 1) to the accelerator pedal control unit (40 figure 1) and to the assistance control unit (10, 14, 12 figure 1), and the second accelerator pedal sensor (A2 46) is connected via a second signal path (48 figure 1) to the accelerator pedal control unit and to the assistance control unit (10, 14, 12 figure 1), that when a pedal is actuated, an actuation signal, in particular a kickdown signal is generated in each signal path, and that the assistance control unit checks error-free signal processing in the control units. (104, 118 figure 2) by performing a plausibility check between the actuator signals generated in the first and second signal paths (46 and 44 step 104 figure 2 column 4 line 50-60 PWG2 46 and PWG1 44 have plausibility comparisons with respect to pregiven tolerances 44 PWG1 and 46 PWG2 to predetermined tolerance ranges)
Regarding claim 14, Golzer teaches wherein routing takes place in the second signal path (II) (48 figure 1) in the accelerator pedal control unit (40 figure 1), in which the second accelerator pedal raw value (F2) is transmitted to the assistance control unit (10, 14, 12 figure 1) via a routing section without signal processing (column 3 line 55-67 to column 4 line 1-20).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 12-13, 15-30 objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Response to Arguments
Regarding applicants arguments on page 12 paragraph 1 applicant states that amended claim 11 teaches error-free signal processing by verified explicit inter-signal plausibility evaluation os two independently generated actuated signals.
Examiner disagrees and states to reference the rejection above (Column 4 line 50-60)
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GEORGE C. JIN whose telephone number is (571)272-9898. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM-6PM.
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/GEORGE C JIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3747