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 statement (IDS) submitted on 04November2024 is being considered by the examiner.
Status of Claims
Pending
1-20
Objected
1, and 11
112b
6-10, and 16-20
102
1-7, and 11-17
Claim Objections
Claim(s) 1, and 11 objected to because of the following informalities: The limitation "the vehicle" should read "the electric vehicle" for the purpose of clarity and consistency. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim(s) 6-10, and 16-20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim(s) 6, 9-10, 16, and 19-20 contains the limitation "the other torque command" which is indefinite. It is unclear what "the other torque command" is referring to.
Claim(s) 6-7, and 16-17 contains the limitation "torque command" which is indefinite. It is unclear which "torque command" is being referred to since a front wheel and rear wheel command was introduced.
Claim(s) 8, and 18 is/are rejected due to being dependent on a rejected base claim.
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)(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) 1-7, and 11-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ravichandran US 20230241983.
Ravichandran discloses,
Claim(s) 1 and 11; A torque control system for a drive system of an electric vehicle, the torque control system comprising: a controller(12) that generates a front-wheel torque command and a rear-wheel torque command having torque values distributed from a required torque for vehicle driving([0028] Controller 12 may comprise a portion of a control system 14, [0027] 14 communicates with a 102 and 106 which are motors associated with the front and rear axle gear train); a front-wheel motor(102) operatively connected to the controller([0027] Control system 14 may communicate with 102), wherein operation of the front-wheel motor is controlled according to the front-wheel torque command generated and output by the controller([0025] electric motors 102, 106 may have independently controlled torque and/or power and/or speed, [0027] Control system 14 may communicate with one or more of electric motor 102, front axle gear train 118, electric motor 106, and rear axle gear train 120); and a rear-wheel motor(106) operatively connected to the controller([0027] Control system 14 may communicate with 106), wherein operation of the rear-wheel motor is controlled according to the rear-wheel torque command generated and output by the controller([0025] electric motors 102, 106 may have independently controlled torque and/or power and/or speed, [0027] Control system 14 may communicate with one or more of electric motor 102, front axle gear train 118, electric motor 106, and rear axle gear train 120), wherein the controller determines whether there is a change request of a direction of the required torque for the vehicle driving([0027] Control system 14 may receive an indication of an operator requested output (e.g., torque increase, decrease) of the drivetrain system from a human operator, or an autonomous controller), and determines, in response that the controller concludes that there is the change request of the direction of the required torque([0029] Discloses a drivers need to reverse torque and what happens when torque is reversed), the front-wheel torque command and the rear-wheel torque command determined from the required torque as values for sequential zero-crossing while the required torque determined in real time changes while performing zero-crossing of passing through 0 torque for direction change([0059] As one example, during a tip-in, torque shaping and coordination may be based on whether the torque reversal requires the front and rear motor to cross the zero-torque point. If both motors will cross the zero torque point, the motor transition sequence may be based on torque capacity and driver tip-in magnitude).
Claim(s) 2 and 12; Wherein the controller determines the front-wheel torque command and the rear-wheel torque command determined from the required torque while the required torque changes, as values so that a torque sum of the front-wheel torque command and the rear-wheel torque command satisfies the required torque([0127] Front wheels propulsive torque plot 1410 shows an allocation of driver demand 1438 and total rear wheels propulsive torque 1440. Total propulsive torque is equal to the sum of the total rear wheels propulsive torque and the front wheels propulsive torque).
Claim(s) 3 and 13; Wherein the controller performs torque correction for limiting a change rate of the front-wheel torque command to a preset first maximum allowable change rate in the zero-crossing of the front-wheel torque command, and performs torque correction for limiting a change rate of the rear-wheel torque command to a preset second maximum allowable change rate in the zero-crossing of the rear-wheel torque command([0040] first controller 222 controls a speed of lash transition for the first axle, a second controller 228 controls the speed of lash transition for the second axle, first and second controllers control a rate of change of torque through the axle lash based sensor feedback from torque sensors).
Claim(s) 4 and 14; Wherein the controller performs, while performing the torque correction for limiting the change rate of the front-wheel torque command to the preset first maximum allowable change rate, torque compensation for the rear-wheel torque command distributed from the required torque so that a sum of the front-wheel torque command, the change rate of which is limited, and the rear-wheel torque command distributed from the required torque satisfies the required torque([0127] In the example plot 1404, shaped rear motor torque 1424 traverse the zero torque point with shaping 1422, after which shaped rear motor torque 1424 increases to the allocation of driver demand 1418, Total propulsive torque is equal to the sum of the total rear wheels propulsive torque and the front wheels propulsive torque).
Claim(s) 5 and 15; Wherein the controller performs, while performing the torque correction for limiting the change rate of the rear-wheel torque command to the preset second maximum allowable change rate, torque compensation for the front-wheel torque command distributed from the required torque so that a sum of the rear-wheel torque command, the change rate of which is limited, and the front-wheel torque command distributed from the required torque satisfies the required torque([0127] Front wheels propulsive torque plot 1410 shows an allocation of driver demand 1438 and total rear wheels propulsive torque 1440, Total propulsive torque is equal to the sum of the total rear wheels propulsive torque and the front wheels propulsive torque).
Claim(s) 6 and 16; Wherein, in the zero-crossing of one of the front-wheel torque command and the rear-wheel torque command, the controller performs torque correction for limiting a change rate of the torque command of the zero-crossing to a preset change rate([0040] first controller 222 controls a speed of lash transition for the first axle, a second controller 228 controls the speed of lash transition for the second axle, first and second controllers control a rate of change of torque through the axle lash based sensor feedback from torque sensors), determines a torque correction value based on a backlash estimation value of the drive system where the torque command performs the zero-crossing([0041] The system filters and shapes wheel torque demand using front and rear axle parameters, motor speeds and wheel speeds to estimate lash states, and, in response to a torque reversal, coordinates sequential axle lash crossings including clunk and shuffle-minimizing adjustments), and performs torque compensation for compensating for the determined torque correction value with respect to the other torque command without performing the zero-crossing([0041] The motor of the first axle to cross the lash may provide compensatory torque during the traverse of the other axle lash. The system may monitor and adjust speed of the lash crossing for each axle using feedback control).
Claim(s) 7 and 17; Wherein the backlash estimation value is at least one of a backlash speed estimation value of the drive system where the torque command performs the zero-crossing or a backlash acceleration estimation value of the drive system where the torque command performs the zero-crossing([0055] During the estimation, driveline parameters, motor speeds and torques, and wheel speeds may be considered at 412).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim(s) 8-10, and 18-20 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
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/John C Merino/Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3669
/Erin M Piateski/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3669
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