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 .
Claims 1 – 10 remain pending in the application and have been fully considered.
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) 1, 3 – 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Bohm (DE 1020200215965).
Regarding Claim 1:
Bohm teaches a method for operating a brake of a motor vehicle (see abstract) comprising: recording at least one of a braking torque and travel characteristic curve of the brake while the motor vehicle is in motion (see abstract, “travel path,” torque and characteristic curve is inputted as F.sub.SP as shown in Figs 1 – 2), ascertaining a corresponding position of an actuator along a path which corresponds to a specified braking torque for keeping the motor vehicle stationary (abstract describes standstill, and Figs 1 – 2 show Xstandby and Xsub.actuator), and moving the actuator to the corresponding position (KP value in Figs 1 – 2).
Regarding Claim 3:
Bohm teaches the vehicle is kept stationary in response to activation of a parking brake functionality (abstract).
Regarding Claim 4:
Bohm teaches the specified braking torque is ascertained based on an operating state of the vehicle (Figs 1 – 2).
Regarding Claim 5:
Bohm teaches the at least one of braking torque and travel characteristic curve is recorded at one of specified time intervals and in specified operating states (Figs 1 – 2).
Regarding Claim 6:
Bohm teaches wherein, after the actuator has moved to the corresponding position, no adjustment takes place, while the motor vehicle is kept stationary (abstract, Figs 1 – 2).
Regarding Claim 7:
Bohm teaches the braking torque is measured with at least one of a brake force sensor, and a position is measured with a motor position sensor (paragraphs 0018 – 0028).
Regarding Claim 8:
Bohm teaches the actuator is an electromagnetic actuator (paragraphs 0018 – 0028).
Regarding Claim 9:
See rejection of Claim 1 above.
Regarding Claim 10:
See rejection of Claim 1 above.
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.
Claim(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bohm (DE 1020200215965) and in view of Putz et al. (US 2023/0392659).
Regarding Claim 2:
Bohm is silent to recording the at least one of the braking torque and travel characteristic curve is recorded-during a service braking operation.
However, Putz et al. teaches recording the at least one of the braking torque and travel characteristic curve is recorded-during a service braking operation (abstract, paragraph 0220, 0228).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to include a service braking operation of Putz et al. in the method of Bohm in order to improve safety.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
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/LONG T TRAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3747