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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 11/01/2024 and 05/22/2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claim 6 is objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 6, line 2, “one or plurality of parameters” should read “one or a plurality of parameters”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Van Nus (U.S. Publication No. 2023/0322094; hereinafter Van Nus).
Regarding claim 1, Van Nus teaches a battery electric vehicle including an electric motor as a driving source (Van Nus: Par. 66; i.e., the EV 400 can provide the output 422 to a powertrain 424. In some implementations, the powertrain 424 comprises one or more electric motors),
the battery electric vehicle comprising: a driving operation member used to drive the battery electric vehicle (Van Nus: Par. 66; i.e., The powertrain 424 will generate an acceleration of the EV 400 based on the output 422);
a processing circuit (Van Nus: Par. 106; i.e., The computing device 1200 includes, in some embodiments, at least one processing device 1202);
and a memory storing a database that manages a plurality of vehicle models obtained by modelling a plurality of virtual vehicles among which acceleration characteristics for a driving operation of a driver vary (Van Nus: Par. 109; i.e., the secondary storage device 1214 and its associated computer readable media provide … data structures, and other data for the computing device 1200; Par. 69; i.e., The model 500 can be employed for emulating, using a powertrain of an EV that has an emulation operation mode activated, an acceleration of a selected ICE vehicle type; Par. 71; i.e., The model 500 can be configured to represent one or more modeled characteristics of the ICE vehicle with which the model 500 is associated; multiple virtual vehicles are modeled with varying acceleration characteristics and the modeled vehicles are stored in the data structure),
wherein: the processing circuit is configured to read, from the database, a vehicle model of an intended virtual vehicle selected from among the plurality of virtual vehicles by the driver (Van Nus: Par. 81; i.e.,. at an operation 702, the method 700 can include receiving … a user selection of a first vehicle type from among multiple vehicle types; Par. 83; i.e., providing the EV with a second acceleration (e.g., corresponding to the output 422 in FIG. 4) determined based on the first vehicle type and the input; the system reads the vehicle model of the selected vehicle from the database),
acquire an operating status of the driving operation member and a driving condition of the battery electric vehicle (Van Nus: Par. 61; i.e., an input 410 to the emulation component 406 can be generated based on the present position of the accelerator pedal 402; Par. 95; i.e., current operating conditions (e.g., speed, acceleration, gear selection)),
calculate a virtual acceleration of the intended virtual vehicle for an operation to the driving operation member based on the operating status of the driving operation member and the driving condition of the battery electric vehicle by using the vehicle model of the intended virtual vehicle (Van Nus: Par. 83; i.e., at an operation 706, in response to the input and while the emulation operation mode is active, the method can include providing the EV with a second acceleration (e.g., corresponding to the output 422 in FIG. 4) determined based on the first vehicle type and the input),
and control the electric motor such that an acceleration of the battery electric vehicle becomes the virtual acceleration (Van Nus: Par. 23; i.e., The EV can dynamically limit the torque output of its powertrain to match the ICE vehicle’s acceleration output according to a model; Par. 66; i.e., the powertrain 424 will generate an acceleration of the EV 400 based on the output 422).
Regarding claim 2, Van Nus teaches the battery electric vehicle according to claim 1. Van Nus further teaches wherein the processing circuit is configured to calculate a target driving force of the battery electric vehicle for adjusting the acceleration of the battery electric vehicle to the virtual acceleration (Van Nus: Par. 62; i.e., the model 412 can calculate the emulation of the ICE vehicle in any of multiple different ways. The model 412 can take inputs such as accelerator pedal position gear selection, and reactive load, and output the calculated torque and resultant acceleration value),
and change a motor torque output from the electric motor such that the target driving force is given to the battery electric vehicle (Van Nus: Par. 23; i.e., the EV can dynamically limit the torque output of its powertrain to match the ICE vehicle’s acceleration output according to a model).
Regarding claim 3, Van Nus teaches the battery electric vehicle according to claim 1. Van Nus further teaches wherein each of the plurality of vehicle models includes a control model configured to simulate a control system that calculates a required behavior output of a powertrain of a corresponding one of the virtual vehicles (Van Nus: Par. 89; i.e., the model 806 can generate a torque demand 808 that corresponds to an emulation of the acceleration of the other vehicle),
and a plant model configured to simulate a physical limitation on the required behavior output of the powertrain of the corresponding one of the virtual vehicles (Van Nus: Par. 24; i.e., with the emulation operation mode being active the EV can filter torque demands via an onboard model to limit output torque to replicate the longitudinal acceleration of a particular ICE powertrain).
Regarding claim 4, Van Nus teaches the battery electric vehicle according to claim 3. Van Nus further teaches wherein the control model is configured to calculate the required behavior output upon receiving input of an operating status of the driving operation member and a driving condition of the battery electric vehicle (Van Nus: Par. 89; i.e., the model 806 can generate one or more outputs based on the driver input 802 and the vehicle state 804. In some implementations, the model 806 can generate a torque demand 808 that corresponds to an emulation of the acceleration of the other vehicle).
Regarding claim 5, Van Nus teaches the battery electric vehicle according to claim 3. Van Nus further teaches wherein the plant model is configured to output the virtual acceleration of the corresponding one of the virtual vehicles based on a virtual driving force output from the powertrain of the corresponding one of the virtual vehicles for the required behavior output (Van Nus: Par. 24; i.e., with the emulation operation mode being active the EV can filter torque demands via an onboard model to limit output torque to replicate the longitudinal acceleration of a particular ICE powertrain).
Regarding claim 6, Van Nus teaches the battery electric vehicle according to claim 1. Van Nus further teaches wherein: each of the plurality of vehicle models has one or a plurality of parameters relevant to the acceleration characteristics (Van Nus: Par. 93; i.e., the physics simulator 912 can make use of one or more parameters of model parameters 914 in performing its simulation);
and the processing circuit is configured to change the one or plurality of parameters of the vehicle model of the intended virtual vehicle according to the intended virtual vehicle (Van Nus: Par. 93; i.e., the physics simulator 912 can include hardware and/or software and can be designed or configured to simulate one or more physical characteristics or circumstances based on some or all parameters currently known by the processing component 908; Par. 94; i.e., the physics simulator 912 can generate a model output 916 based on its simulation; model parameters are modified to output characteristics of the emulated vehicle).
Regarding claim 7, Van Nus teaches the battery electric vehicle according to claim 1. Van Nus further teaches a speaker configured to generate a sound in a vehicle cabin (Van Nus: Par. 67; i.e., the vehicle electronics 428 can include a speaker; Par. 95; i.e., The audio system 918b can output audio based on the sound emulation 918a in one or more individual units of speakers 918c in the EV),
wherein: the plurality of virtual vehicles includes a virtual vehicle equipped with an internal combustion engine (Van Nus: Par. 22; i.e., the EV selectively and dynamically reduces the torque output by its powertrain to simulate that of an ICE vehicle. This can be referred to as providing a “virtual powertrain”);
and the processing circuit is further configured to when the intended virtual vehicle is the virtual vehicle equipped with the internal combustion engine, generate an artificial engine sound from the internal combustion engine by using the vehicle model of the intended virtual vehicle, and output the artificial engine sound from the speaker (Van Nus: Par. 68; i.e., receive a user selection of a first vehicle type from among multiple vehicle types each having an ICE; Par. 91; i.e., the sound of a combustion-engine powertrain can be emulated; Claim 8; i.e., emulating, using a speaker of the EV, a sound of the first vehicle type).
Regarding claim 8, Van Nus teaches the battery electric vehicle according to claim 1. Van Nus further teaches wherein: the driving operation member includes an accelerator pedal (Van Nus: Par. 60; i.e., the EV 400 includes an accelerator pedal 402 that a driver can depress or release so that it assumes any of a range of positions);
the operating status of the driving operation member includes an accelerator operation amount of the accelerator pedal (Van Nus: Par. 61; i.e., an input 410 to the emulation component 406 can be generated based on the present position of the accelerator pedal 402);
and the driving condition of the battery electric vehicle includes a vehicle speed of the battery electric vehicle (Van Nus: Par. 95; i.e., current operating conditions (e.g., speed, acceleration, gear selection)).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Additional prior art deemed pertinent in the art of controlling electric vehicles to reflect a virtual acceleration of a virtual vehicle includes Kim et al. (U.S. Publication No. 2023/0016272), Lee et al. (U.S. Publication No. 2022/0169174), Peachey et al. (U.S. Publication No. 2012/0106748), Ballard (U.S. Publication No. 2012/0083958), and Kim et al. (U.S. Publication No. 2022/0194410).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRANDON Z WILLIS whose telephone number is (571)272-5427. The examiner can normally be reached Weekdays 8:00-5:30.
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/BRANDON Z WILLIS/Examiner, Art Unit 3665