DETAILED ACTION
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 .
Summary
This communication is a First Office Action Non-Final Rejection on the merits.
Claims 1 – 12 are currently pending and considered below.
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 – 2, 7 and 10 – 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yuan (US 2023/0377390 A1) in view of Petz et al. (Hereinafter Petz) (US 2016/0311427 A1).
As per claim 1, Yuan teaches the limitations of:
a method of operating a drive of an electric bicycle with a determination of an overheating protection of the electric drive (See at least abstract and paragraph 141; a control method and system for a vehicle, a vehicle-mounted control device, and a vehicle. The control method for a vehicle in the disclosure includes: substituting an obtained vehicle control parameter of the vehicle into a preset first correlation matrix model to obtain a temperature, namely, a first temperature value, of a component; obtaining an actual temperature, namely, a second temperature value, of the component of the electric drive system; calculating a difference between the second temperature value and the first temperature value to obtain a temperature residual value; and determining health of the component of the electric drive system based on the temperature residual value. ... The vehicle in the disclosure may be an electric tricycle, an electric bicycle), comprising:
receiving and/or reading status data, wherein the status data comprises a temperature of the electric drive and a temperature gradient of the electric drive (See at least abstract and paragraph 9; obtaining an actual temperature, namely, a second temperature value, of the component of the electric drive system, where the actual temperature is a value measured by a temperature measuring apparatus on the component);
Yuan teaches overheating protection based on the temperature of electric motor (See at least paragraph 132; When the above technical solution is used, in the control method for a vehicle in the disclosure, without introducing an additional diagnostics sensor, a proposed diagnostics solution is based on a temperature measuring apparatus, usually a temperature sensor, required in protection of the electric drive system. The temperature sensor is required for overheat protection of each electric drive system), but does not explicitly teach the limitations of:
receiving an overheating protection map and/or reading out the overheating protection map from a memory, wherein the overheating protection map indicates a permissible maximum power of the electric drive as a function of the status data;
determining a permissible maximum power from the overheating protection map using the status data, and
outputting a power that does not exceed the maximum permissible power of the electric drive.
Petz teaches the limitations of:
receiving an overheating protection map and/or reading out the overheating protection map from a memory, wherein the overheating protection map indicates a permissible maximum power of the electric drive as a function of the status data (See at least paragraph 43 – 45; In order to optimally exploit the available mechanical propulsion power in the electric drive operation—or in the electrically assisted hybrid drive operation—with regard to the maximum acceleration, presently, the shift speed 54 or the shift threshold is therefore varied. Namely, if the source voltage, presently thus the voltage of the battery 16, decreases due to discharge thereof, thus, the power maximum of the electric motor 12 shifts towards lower speeds. Correspondingly, then, the shift speed 54 is decreased such that the power maximum of the electric motor 12 is further in the available speed range. If the electric motor 12 is heavily loaded, thus for instance operated under full load, thus, overheating of the magnets and windings used in it occurs. Furthermore, power electronics 68 associated with the electric motor 12, the battery 16 as well as lines 70 may overheat, which connect the battery 16 to the power electronics 68 and the power electronics 68 to the electric motor 12 (cf. FIG. 3). In order to protect the mentioned component parts in such a case, the power delivered by the electric motor 12 is reduced by supplying less current to it. A corresponding continuous operating mode 72 of the electric motor 12 is illustrated in the graph 44 in FIG. 2 by a fourth curve. In this continuous operating mode 72, the electric motor 12 can continuously provide power without overheating of the electric motor 12 or of the further components possibly affected by overheating having to be feared. As is apparent from the graph 44, the power maximum of the electric motor 12 shifts towards higher speeds related to the shift speed 54 if it is operated in the continuous operating mode 72. Correspondingly, in this operating state, the shift speed 54 is shifted to higher values such that the power maximum of the electric motor 12 is further in the available speed range.);
determining a permissible maximum power from the overheating protection map using the status data (See at least paragraph 43 – 45), and
outputting a power that does not exceed the maximum permissible power of the electric drive (See at least paragraph 43 – 45).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to modify detecting overheating of the electric bicycle and protecting the bicycle motor from overheating of Yuan, to include receiving an overheating protection map and/or reading out the overheating protection map from a memory, wherein the overheating protection map indicates a permissible maximum power of the electric drive as a function of the status data; determining a permissible maximum power from the overheating protection map using the status data, and outputting a power that does not exceed the maximum permissible power of the electric drive as taught by Petz in order to protect electric motor, lines and batteries from the overheating (paragraph 44).
As per claim 2, The combination of Yuan and Petz teaches the limitations of:
wherein in the overheating protection map the permissible maximum power decreases with increasing temperature and/or increasing temperature gradient of the electric drive (Petz, see at least paragraph 43 – 44).
As per claim 7, The combination of Yuan and Petz teaches the limitations of:
wherein the status data includes a battery charge state of an electrical energy store of the drive of the electric bicycle (Petz, see at least paragraph 19).
As per claim 10, The combination of Yuan and Petz teaches the limitations of:
A drive system for an electric bicycle comprising: a control unit, wherein the control unit is set up to carry out a method according to claim 1 (Yuan, see at least abstract).
As per claim 11, The combination of Yuan and Petz teaches the limitations of:
An electric bicycle with the drive system according to claim 10 (Yuan, see at least abstract).
Claims 3 – 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yuan and Petz and in further view of Nawa et al. (Hereinafter Nawa) (US 2025/0167668 A1).
As per claim 3, The combination of Yuan and Petz teaches all the limitations of the claimed invention but does not explicitly teach the limitations of:
wherein in the overheating protection map the permissible maximum power drops from a start temperature and above and does not drop any further from an end temperature, and wherein the end temperature is greater than the start temperature.
Nawa teaches the limitations of:
wherein in the overheating protection map the permissible maximum power drops from a start temperature and above and does not drop any further from an end temperature, and wherein the end temperature is greater than the start temperature (See at least paragraph 7).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include wherein in the overheating protection map the permissible maximum power drops from a start temperature and above and does not drop any further from an end temperature, and wherein the end temperature is greater than the start temperature as taught by Nawa in the system of the combination of Yuan and Petz, since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
As per claim 4, The combination of Yuan, Petz and Nawa teaches the limitations of: wherein in the overheating protection map the permissible maximum power assumes the value zero from the end temperature and above (Nawa, See at least paragraph 7).
As per claim 5, The combination of Yuan, Petz and Nawa teaches the limitations of:
wherein in the overheating protection map the start temperature decreases with increasing temperature gradients and the start temperature increases with decreasing temperature gradients (Nawa, see at least paragraph 7 and paragraph 74 – 80).
As per claim 6, The combination of Yuan, Petz and Nawa teaches the limitations of:
wherein in the overheating protection map the start temperature lies between a first start temperature limit value and a second start temperature limit value, and wherein the first start temperature limit value is not equal to the second start temperature limit value (Nawa, See at least paragraph 7).
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yuan and Petz in further view of Li et al. (Hereinafter Li) (US 2021/0086620 A1).
As per claim 8, The combination of Yuan and Petz teaches the limitations of the electric bicycle (see the rejection above), but does not explicitly teach the limitations of:
wherein the status data includes an incline of the path on which the electric vehicle is located and/or a GPS position of the electric vehicle.
Li teaches the limitations of:
wherein the status data includes an incline of the path on which the electric vehicle is located and/or a GPS position of the electric vehicle (See at least paragraph 26).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include wherein the status data includes an incline of the path on which the electric vehicle is located and/or a GPS position of the electric vehicle as taught by Li in the system of the combination of Yuan and Petz, since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Claims 9 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yuan and Petz in further view of Bullen (US 2018/0244160 A1).
As per claim 9, The combination of Yuan and Petz teaches the limitations of the status data (see the rejection above), but does not explicitly teach the limitations of: the status data includes weather information.
Bullen teaches the limitations of:
the status data includes weather information (See at least paragraph 79).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include wherein the status data includes the status data includes weather information as taught by Bullen in the system of the combination of Yuan and Petz, since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
As per claim 12, The combination of Yuan, Petz and Bullen teaches the limitations of:
wherein the status data includes an ambient temperature (Bullen, see at least paragraph 79).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Manzini (US 2022/0219780 A1) discloses electric gearmotor assembly for bicycles.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to IG T AN whose telephone number is (571)270-5110. The examiner can normally be reached M - F: 10:00AM- 4:00PM.
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IG T AN
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3662
/IG T AN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3662