DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
This Office Action is in response to Applicant's Amendment and Remarks filed on 12/23/2025. This Action is made FINAL.
Claims 2-20 were canceled.
Claims 1 are pending for examination.
Response to Arguments
(A) Applicant’s arguments, see pages 13, filed “Applicants have herein amended Independent Claim 1 to remove all amendments which were made in Applicants' prior Office Action response filed on August 18, 2025. Also, as stated above, in response to the present Office Action, Applicants have herein canceled Claims 2-20 to remove all Claims which were added in Applicants' prior Office Action response filed on August 18, 2025. As a result of the present Claim amendments and Claim cancellations, Applicants respectfully point out that the present requirement for Applicants to "restrict the Claims to the invention previously claimed” is now moot.” on 12/23/2025, with respect to ELECTION/RESTRICTIONS have been fully considered and are persuasive.
As to point (A), the ELECTION/RESTRICTIONS of claims 1-20 has been withdrawn.
Double Patenting
A rejection based on double patenting of the “same invention” type finds its support in the language of 35 U.S.C. 101 which states that “whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process... may obtain a patent therefor...” (Emphasis added). Thus, the term “same invention,” in this context, means an invention drawn to identical subject matter. See Miller v. Eagle Mfg. Co., 151 U.S. 186 (1894); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Ockert, 245 F.2d 467, 114 USPQ 330 (CCPA 1957).
A statutory type (35 U.S.C. 101) double patenting rejection can be overcome by canceling or amending the claims that are directed to the same invention so they are no longer coextensive in scope. The filing of a terminal disclaimer cannot overcome a double patenting rejection based upon 35 U.S.C. 101.
Claim 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 as claiming the same invention as that of claim 1 of prior U.S. Patent No. US12112579B2. This is a statutory double patenting rejection.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 1 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 101 Double Patenting, set forth in this Office action.
The features “a time of flight sensor configured to generate terrain information”, “repeatedly receive said terrain information from said time of flight sensor”, “repeatedly receive said terrain information from said time of flight sensor”, “repeatedly evaluate said terrain information” and “automatically adjust, at said at least one connected component, one or more of said performance range adjustable settings of said active valve suspension tune based on a result of said repeated evaluation of said sensor data and said terrain information” when taken in the context of the claims as a whole, were not uncovered in the prior art teachings.
Galasso (US20110202236A1) disclosed a system for a vehicle may comprise a vehicle suspension; a sensor operable to measure an operational characteristic of the vehicle suspension; and a processor in communication with the sensor and operable to suggest an operational setting of the vehicle suspension in response to an input from the sensor corresponding to the operational characteristic.
Voss (US20060064223A1) disclosed Control System monitors shifts in multiple parameters via sensors, then the control adjusts one or more dynamically adjustable device functions attached to a vehicle to enhance the ride characteristics of the vehicle for the benefit of the user and or payload.
However, the references does not disclose “a time of flight sensor configured to generate terrain information”, “repeatedly receive said terrain information from said time of flight sensor”, “repeatedly receive said terrain information from said time of flight sensor”, “repeatedly evaluate said terrain information” and “automatically adjust, at said at least one connected component, one or more of said performance range adjustable settings of said active valve suspension tune based on a result of said repeated evaluation of said sensor data and said terrain information”. In particular, usage of time of flight sensor to generate terrain information and utilizing terrain information from said time of flight sensor to automatically adjust the active valve suspension tune not disclosed in the prior arts.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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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/W.Y./Examiner, Art Unit 3667
/Hitesh Patel/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3667
1/13/26