DETAILED ACTION
This Non-Final Office Action is in response to the claims filed on 10/10/2024.
Claims 1-13 are currently pending.
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) 1,2 and 4-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Matsuno et al. (US 2007/0039775).
As to claim 1 Matsuno discloses a steering control device comprising a software processing device (figure 1), wherein:
the software processing device controls a steering device (figure 1#1);
the steering device includes
a steering shaft (3), and
a turning wheel of a vehicle (7), the turning wheel turning with rotation of the steering shaft;
the software processing device is configured to execute a sampling process, a turning angle calculation process, and a control constant learning process;
the sampling process is a process of sampling a steering angle (figure 12 #32) and a yaw rate (figure 12 #33) in synchronization (at the same time);
the steering angle is a rotation angle of the steering shaft (paragraph 0008);
the turning angle calculation process (figure 12 #25b) is a process of calculating a turning angle of the turning wheel, using the yaw rate (33) and a vehicle velocity (31) as inputs;
the control constant learning process is a process of learning a control constant based on a plurality of combinations each of which is constituted by the steering angle sampled by the sampling process and the turning angle corresponding to the steering angle; and (The control constant is a constant that indicates a rotational displacement of the turning wheel with respect to a rotational displacement of the steering shaft. As per the applicant’s paragraph 0005) (the correction amount is also the displacement between the steering components, see paragraph 0008)
the control constant is a constant that indicates a rotational displacement of the turning wheel with respect to a rotational displacement of the steering shaft (paragraph 0008).
As to claim 2 Matsuno discloses the steering control device according to claim 1, wherein:
the control constant includes a stiffness coefficient that is a ratio of the turning angle to the steering angle (the stiffness is the amount of play between the shaft and the turning wheels, the correction amount is also the amount of play and is made stiffer by driving the motor (21) to correct for this play (paragraph 0035)); and
the control constant learning process is a process of learning a slope of a straight line as the stiffness coefficient, the slope of the straight line being decided from the plurality of combinations each of which is constituted by the steering angle and the turning angle corresponding to the steering angle.
(paragraph 0070 discloses a slope (d.beta./dt) (a derivative which is defined as a slope mathematically) which is part of the learning process. This slope (d.beta./dt) is the stiffness coefficient (dead zone angular velocity (paragraph 0067).
As to claim 4 Matsuno discloses the steering control device according to claim 1, wherein the control constant learning process is a process of calculating the control constant for each of different vehicle velocities from each other, based on a plurality of combinations each of which is constituted by the steering angle sampled by the sampling process for each of the different vehicle velocities from each other and the turning angle corresponding to the steering angle. (within the formulas discloses as the steering angle and velocities change so will the correction amount (control constant))
As to claim 5 Matsuno discloses the steering control device according to claim 1, wherein the sampling process is executed when a magnitude of the steering angle is equal to or more than a learning minimum. (The sampling process will meet this requirement because it will be executed during all the steering angles there is no limit set for the formula. It is suggested to change this limitation to “the sampling process will only be executed when….”)
As to claim 6 Matsuno discloses the steering control device according to claim 1, wherein the sampling process is executed when a magnitude of the steering angle is equal to or less than a learning maximum. (The sampling process will meet this requirement because it will be executed during all the steering angles there is no limit set for the formula. It is suggested to change this limitation to “the sampling process will only be executed when….”)
As to claim 7 Matsuno discloses the steering control device according to claim 1, wherein the sampling process is executed when a magnitude of a change velocity of the steering angle is equal to or less than a prescribed velocity. (The sampling process will meet this requirement because it will be executed during all the steering angles there is no limit set for the formula. It is suggested to change this limitation to “the sampling process will only be executed when….”)
As to claim 8 Matsuno discloses the steering control device according to claim 1, wherein: the sampling process is executed when the combination of the steering angle and the turning angle is not in a dead band region; and the dead band region is a region where the turning angle does not change in response to change in the steering angle. (The sampling process will meet this requirement because it will be executed during all the steering angles there is no limit set for the formula, so weather it is or is not in a deadband region the formula and sampling will still be executed. It is suggested to change this limitation to “the sampling process will only be executed when….”)
As to claim 9 Matsuno discloses the steering control device according to claim 1, wherein the sampling process is executed when a magnitude of a change velocity of the steering angle during a latest predetermined period is equal to or less than a threshold. (This process will execute during all periods of time even those equal to a threshold. It is suggested to change this limitation to “the sampling process will only be executed when….”)
As to claim 10 Matsuno discloses the steering control device according to claim 1, wherein:
the sampling process is executed in each of a first state, a second state, a third state, and a fourth state;
the first state is a state where the steering angle when the steering angle changes in a right-turn direction is in a right-turn region;
the second state is a state where the steering angle when the steering angle changes in the right-turn direction is in a left-turn region;
the third state is a state where the steering angle when the steering angle changes in a left-turn direction is in the right-turn region; and
the fourth state is a state where the steering angle when the steering angle changes in the left-turn direction is in the left-turn region. (The sampling process will be active in any turning state as their formulas do not limit it to any specific turning state and will be active as long as there is a turn angle sensed by the sensor. It is suggested to change this limitation to “the sampling process will only be executed in….”)
As to claim 11 Matsuno discloses the steering control device according to claim 2, wherein:
the software processing device is configured to execute a turning angle estimation process; and
the turning angle estimation process is a process of calculating an estimated value of the turning angle, using a detected value of the steering angle (32) and the stiffness coefficient (a first correction amount. delta.Hc1, see paragraph 0037) learned by the control constant learning process.
As to claim 12 Matsuno discloses the steering control device according to claim 11, wherein:
the steering device includes a motor (21) that rotates the steering shaft;
the software processing device is configured to execute a turning process; and
the turning process is a process of manipulating a torque of the motor depending on a manipulated variable for a feedback control in which the estimated value of the turning angle is a controlled variable and a target value of the turning angle is a target value of the controlled variable (paragraph 0033).
As to claim 13 Matsuno discloses the steering control device according to claim 3, wherein:
the steering device includes a motor (21) that rotates the steering shaft;
the software processing device is configured to execute a turning process;
the turning process is a process of manipulating a torque of the motor using a dead band amount (The amount for which the controller is correcting for is the dead band. This amount is the gap in the steering elements that will cause the resonance of yaw movement that is being suppressed, Paragraph 0081) as an input, the dead band amount being calculated depending on the dead band width learned by the control constant learning process; and
the dead band amount is a maximal amount in which the turning angle does not change in response to change in the steering angle in a steering direction (the dead band amount is a maximal amount (gap that will cause a resonance) in which the upper steering shaft (steering angle) does not move in response to the wheels (turning angle) moving).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 3 is 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Matsuno et al. (US 2007/0039775) teaches
A steering control device comprising a software processing device, wherein:
the software processing device controls a steering device;
the steering device includes
a steering shaft, and
a turning wheel of a vehicle, the turning wheel turning with rotation of the steering shaft;
the software processing device is configured to execute a sampling process, a turning angle calculation process, and a control constant learning process;
the sampling process is a process of sampling a steering angle and a yaw rate in synchronization;
the steering angle is a rotation angle of the steering shaft;
the turning angle calculation process is a process of calculating a turning angle of the turning wheel, using the yaw rate and a vehicle velocity as inputs;
the control constant learning process is a process of learning a control constant based on a plurality of combinations each of which is constituted by the steering angle sampled by the sampling process and the turning angle corresponding to the steering angle; and
the control constant is a constant that indicates a rotational displacement of the turning wheel with respect to a rotational displacement of the steering shaft
However the prior art of record fails to show or adequately teach
the control constant includes a dead band width;
the dead band width is a rotation amount by which the steering shaft rotates after a rotation direction of the steering shaft switches from one of a right-turn direction and a left-turn direction to the other of the right-turn direction and the left-turn direction and before the turning wheel turns;
the control constant learning process includes a right-turn straight line calculation process, a left-turn straight line calculation process, and a dead band width calculation process;
the right-turn straight line calculation process is a process of calculating a right-turn straight line from a first plurality of combinations included in the plurality of combinations each of which is constituted by the sampled steering angle and the turning angle corresponding to the steering angle and being combinations when the rotation direction is the right-turn direction;
the left-turn straight line calculation process is a process of calculating a left-turn straight line from a second plurality of combinations included in the plurality of combinations each of which is constituted by the sampled steering angle and the turning angle corresponding to the steering angle and being combinations when the rotation direction is the left-turn direction; and
the dead band width calculation process is a process of calculating a difference in intercept between the right-turn straight line and the left-turn straight line, as the dead band width.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHERMAN D MANLEY whose telephone number is (571)270-5539. The examiner can normally be reached M-TH 7-5:30 est.
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SHERMAN D. MANLEY
Examiner
Art Unit 3747
/SHERMAN D MANLEY/Examiner, Art Unit 3747
/LOGAN M KRAFT/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3747