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 .
Claim Objections
Claim 4 is objected to because of the following informalities:
“encode a signal based on at least on of the measured fluctuations” should read “encode a signal based on at least one of the measured fluctuations”
Claim 20 is objected to because of the following informalities:
“and ride height or the vehicle” should read “and ride height of the vehicle”
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)(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) 1-5 and 8-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Klank (DE 10 2008 041 050 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Klank discloses a sensor package disposed in a ball joint assembly, the sensor package comprising:
a magnet (13) at a first ball joint assembly component (3) of the ball joint assembly (1), the magnet having a magnetic field [0038-0039: “Fig. 1 shows a ball joint 1 in cross-sectional view, wherein a ball stud 3, having a ball joint 2, is deflectably mounted with its ball joint 2 in a housing 4…The ball joint 2 is flattened at its end face and provided with a recess 12 in which a permanent magnet 13 is seated…the magnetic field generated by the magnet 13 passes through the sensor 14,” as shown in Figure 1]; and
a sensor (14) at a second ball joint assembly component (4) of the ball joint assembly, the sensor measuring fluctuations in the magnetic field, wherein the fluctuations indicate one or more of an oscillation and a displacement of the first ball joint assembly component relative to the second ball joint assembly component [0001: “The invention relates to a method for measuring the wear of a ball joint, which…includes a first component comprising a magnet and a second component comprising a magnetic field-sensitive sensor…One of the components is attached to or fixed to the housing, and the other component is attached to or fixed to the ball stud”] [0039: “Opposite the magnet 13, but at a distance from it, a magnetic field-sensitive sensor 14 is provided, which is attached to a circuit board 15…The circuit board 15 engages at its edge in a circumferential groove 16 of the housing 4”] [0040: “The magnet 13 and the magnetic field-sensitive sensor 14 together form an angle measuring device by means of which a deflection of the ball stud 3 relative to the housing 4, e.g., in the direction of arrow 21, can be detected”].
Regarding claim 2, Klank further discloses wherein the first ball joint assembly component comprises a stud and the second ball joint assembly component comprises a socket, the stud and socket rotatably connected [0027: “The ball joint is particularly designed such that the ball stud has a ball joint by means of which the ball stud is rotatably and/or deflectably mounted in the housing,” as shown in Figure 1].
Regarding claim 3, Klank further discloses wherein the sensor package is contained within a cavity (6) of the ball joint assembly [as shown in Figure 1].
Regarding claim 4, Klank further discloses the package further comprising a printed circuit board (15) physically and communicatively connected to the sensor and disposed within the cavity [0012: “Thus, by changing the force acting on the balls stud, the magnetic field strength detected by the sensor can be varied, and consequently, so can the sensor signal emitted by the sensor,” as shown in Figure 1, the sensor is physically connected to the PCB allowing the sensor output to be converted (encoded) to a communicable signal], the PCB configured to:
receive an output of the sensor indicating the measured fluctuations [0012]; and
encode a signal based on at least one of the measured fluctuations [0012], the signal comprising one or more of:
at least one of the measured fluctuations;
one or more of a wear and displacement of the ball joint assembly determined based on at least one displacement fluctuation encoded in the signal wherein the displacement fluctuation is a fluctuation value of the measured fluctuations indicating displacement of the first ball joint component relative to the second ball joint component [0011: “The inventive method for measuring the wear of a ball joint…comprising the method steps: —measuring the magnetic field magnitude at the location of the sensor by means of the sensor at a first time point in which no force or a first force acts on the ball stud, wherein the sensor outputs at least a first sensor signal characterizing the magnetic field magnitude measured at the first time point, —measuring the magnetic field magnitude at the location of the sensor by means of the sensor at a second time point in which a second force acts on the ball stud, wherein the sensor outputs at least one magnetic field magnitude characterizing the magnetic field magnitude measured at the second time point second sensor signal, —Determining the wear state of the ball joint by evaluating the measured sensor signals”];
and one or more of a ride height of a vehicle at a suspension assembly of the vehicle comprising the ball joint assembly and an oscillation angle of the ball joint assembly determined based on at least one oscillation angle fluctuation encoded in the signal wherein the oscillation angle fluctuation is a fluctuation value of the measured fluctuations indicating the oscillation of the first ball joint assembly component relative to the second ball joint assembly component.
Regarding claim 5, Klank further discloses wherein determining the wear comprises applying the displacement fluctuation to a displacement calibration equation [0047, as shown in Figure 7, the formula in step 29 uses the displacement fluctuation to calculate a characteristic value κ; 0049: “By forming a quotient when calculating the characteristic value κ, it is ensured that magnet aging and temperature influences are largely compensated”].
Regarding claim 8, Klank further discloses wherein the ball joint assembly is disposed in a vehicle, the sensor package is communicatively connected to an electronic control unit (26) of the vehicle [0015: “Since the ball joint is preferably a ball joint for a motor vehicle, wherein the ball joint is attached in particular to a vehicle body, in a wheel suspension or in a steering system of the motor vehicle”], and the sensor package is configured to:
encode a signal based on the measured fluctuations, the signal indicating one or more of a wear of the ball joint assembly, a ride height of the vehicle, and a payload capacity of the vehicle one or more of approaching and exceeding a wear threshold, a predetermined ride height range and a predetermined maximum load capacity, respectively [0045-0046: “With the tensile force F1 applied, the z-component of the magnetic flux density Bz,1 is measured in step 25 using the sensor 14. The measured value Bz,1 is supplied to an evaluation unit 26 and stored there. Then, in step 27, a compressive force F2 of 1 kN is introduced...In step 28, the z-component of the magnetic flux density Bz,2 is measured with the sensor 14 when the compressive force F2 is applied and supplied to the evaluation unit 26. The evaluation unit 26 calculates a characteristic value Σ in step 29…In step 30, the characteristic value Σ is compared with a limit value, whereby the joint 1 is considered worn if the characteristic value Σ exceeds the limit value. In this case, the ball joint 1 is replaced. If the characteristic value Σ does not exceed the limit value, the ball joint 1 is not worn and is not replaced”]; and
provide the signal to the ECU for generating a warning message based on the signal [Klank does not explicitly disclose the evaluation unit 26 generating a warning message, however, in order for the user to be notified that the ball joint is warn and in need of replacement a warning message is inherently generated].
Regarding claim 9, Klank discloses a method of determining a disposition of a ball joint assembly (1) wherein the ball joint assembly comprises a sensor package disposed in the ball joint assembly [0001: “The invention relates to a method for measuring the wear of a ball joint, which…includes a first component comprising a magnet and a second component comprising a magnetic field-sensitive sensor…One of the components is attached to or fixed to the housing, and the other component is attached to or fixed to the ball stud”], the method comprises:
installing the ball joint assembly in a vehicle [0015: “Since the ball joint is preferably a ball joint for a motor vehicle, wherein the ball joint is attached in particular to a vehicle body, in a wheel suspension or in a steering system of the motor vehicle”]; and
measuring, with the sensor package, one or more fluctuations indicating one or more of a displacement and an oscillation of the ball joint assembly [0039: “Opposite the magnet 13, but at a distance from it, a magnetic field-sensitive sensor 14 is provided, which is attached to a circuit board 15…The circuit board 15 engages at its edge in a circumferential groove 16 of the housing 4”] [0040: “The magnet 13 and the magnetic field-sensitive sensor 14 together form an angle measuring device by means of which a deflection of the ball stud 3 relative to the housing 4, e.g., in the direction of arrow 21, can be detected”].
Regarding claim 10, Klank further discloses wherein the sensor package comprises:
a magnet (13) at a first ball assembly component of the ball joint assembly, the magnet having a magnetic field [0038-0039: “Fig. 1 shows a ball joint 1 in cross-sectional view, wherein a ball stud 3, having a ball joint 2, is deflectably mounted with its ball joint 2 in a housing 4…The ball joint 2 is flattened at its end face and provided with a recess 12 in which a permanent magnet 13 is seated…the magnetic field generated by the magnet 13 passes through the sensor 14,” as shown in Figure 1]; and
a sensor (14) at a second ball joint assembly component (4) of the ball joint assembly, the sensor measuring fluctuations in the magnetic field, wherein the fluctuations indicate an oscillation or a displacement of the first ball joint assembly component relative to the second ball joint assembly component [0001: “The invention relates to a method for measuring the wear of a ball joint, which…includes a first component comprising a magnet and a second component comprising a magnetic field-sensitive sensor…One of the components is attached to or fixed to the housing, and the other component is attached to or fixed to the ball stud”] [0039: “Opposite the magnet 13, but at a distance from it, a magnetic field-sensitive sensor 14 is provided, which is attached to a circuit board 15…The circuit board 15 engages at its edge in a circumferential groove 16 of the housing 4”] [0040: “The magnet 13 and the magnetic field-sensitive sensor 14 together form an angle measuring device by means of which a deflection of the ball stud 3 relative to the housing 4, e.g., in the direction of arrow 21, can be detected”].
Regarding claim 11, Klank further discloses the method further comprising encoding a signal based on at least one measured fluctuations [0012, as shown in Figure 1, the sensor is physically connected to the PCB allowing the sensor output to be converted (encoded) to a communicable signal], the signal comprising one or more of:
the at least one measured fluctuations;
one or more of a wear and displacement of the ball joint assembly determined based on at least one displacement fluctuation encoded in the signal wherein the displacement fluctuation is a fluctuation value of the measured fluctuations indicating the displacement of the first ball joint component relative to the second ball joint component [0011: “The inventive method for measuring the wear of a ball joint…comprising the method steps: —measuring the magnetic field magnitude at the location of the sensor by means of the sensor at a first time point in which no force or a first force acts on the ball stud, wherein the sensor outputs at least a first sensor signal characterizing the magnetic field magnitude measured at the first time point, —measuring the magnetic field magnitude at the location of the sensor by means of the sensor at a second time point in which a second force acts on the ball stud, wherein the sensor outputs at least one magnetic field magnitude characterizing the magnetic field magnitude measured at the second time point second sensor signal, —Determining the wear state of the ball joint by evaluating the measured sensor signals”]; and
one or more of a ride height of a vehicle at a suspension assembly of the vehicle comprising the ball joint assembly and an oscillation angle of the ball joint assembly determined based on at least one oscillation angle fluctuation encoded in the signal wherein the oscillation angle fluctuation is a fluctuation value of the measured fluctuations indicating the oscillation of the first ball joint assembly component relative to the second ball joint assembly component.
Regarding claim 12, Klank further discloses the method further comprising providing the signal to an ECU (26) of the vehicle [0045].
Regarding claim 13, Klank further discloses wherein at least one of the wear, displacement, ride height at the suspension assembly and oscillation angle is calculated by a PCB (15) of the sensor package [0012: “the angle measuring device present in the ball joint is used for wear measurement…When the position of ball stud relative to the housing changes, the distance between the magnet and the magnetic field-sensitive sensor also changes. This change in distance influences the strength of the magnetic field at the sensor location. Thus, by changing the force acting on the balls stud, the magnetic field strength detected by the sensor can be varied, and consequently, so can the sensor signal emitted by the sensor,” as shown in Figure 1, the sensor is physically connected to the PCB allowing the sensor output that indicates the wear measurement to be converted (encoded) to a communicable signal].
Regarding claim 14, Klank further discloses wherein calculating one or more of the wear, displacement, oscillation angle, ride height at the suspension assembly, ride height at a point of interest, and payload capacity comprises applying at least one fluctuation to a calibration equation [0047, as shown in Figure 7, the formula in step 29 uses the displacement fluctuation to calculate a characteristic value κ; 0049: “By forming a quotient when calculating the characteristic value κ, it is ensured that magnet aging and temperature influences are largely compensated”].
Regarding claims 15-16, Klank further discloses the method further comprising generating a warning message based on the measured fluctuation indicating one or more of the wear, a ride height of the vehicle, and a payload capacity of the vehicle one or more of approaching and exceeding a wear threshold, a predetermined ride height range and a predetermined maximum load capacity, respectively, wherein the message is generated by an ECU (26) of the vehicle [0045-0046: “The evaluation unit 26 calculates a characteristic value Σ in step 29…In step 30, the characteristic value Σ is compared with a limit value, whereby the joint 1 is considered worn if the characteristic value Σ exceeds the limit value. In this case, the ball joint 1 is replaced. If the characteristic value Σ does not exceed the limit value, the ball joint 1 is not worn and is not replaced’] [Klank does not explicitly disclose the evaluation unit 26 generating a warning message, however, in order for the user to be notified that the ball joint is warn and in need of replacement a warning message is inherently generated].
Regarding claim 17, Klank further discloses wherein the first ball joint assembly component comprises a stud and the second ball joint assembly component comprises a socket, the stud and socket rotatably connected [0027: “The ball joint is particularly designed such that the ball stud has a ball joint by means of which the ball stud is rotatably and/or deflectably mounted in the housing,” as shown in Figure 1].
Regarding claim 18, Klank further discloses wherein the sensor package is contained within a cavity (6) of the ball joint assembly [as shown in Figure 1].
Regarding claim 19, Klank further discloses wherein the ball joint assembly rotatably connects a first (3) and second (4) suspension component of a suspension assembly of the vehicle, the method further comprising determining an oscillation of the suspension assembly based on the measured oscillation [0024: “The sensor is, for example, a Hall sensor or a magnetoresistive sensor. Since the sensor is part of the angle measuring device, by means of which, for example, a rotation and/or deflection of the ball stud relative to the housing can be detected, the sensor can preferably detect the magnetic field strength in several spatial directions”] [0038: “Fig. 1 shows a ball joint 1 in cross-sectional view, wherein a ball stud 3, having a ball joint 2, is deflectably mounted with its ball joint 2 in a housing 4”].
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Klank (DE 10 2008 041 050 A1) in view of Melkote (US Patent Application Publication 2022/0348187).
Regarding claim 6, Klank discloses package of claim 4 as discussed above wherein an oscillation fluctuation is applied to an oscillation angle calibration equation but does not disclose wherein determining the ride height at the suspension assembly comprises applying the oscillation fluctuation to an oscillation angle calibration equation.
Melkote discloses techniques for determining vehicle ride height using a ball joint sensor (Title) wherein an oscillation fluctuation, where the oscillation fluctuation is a fluctuation value of measured fluctuations including the oscillation of a first ball joint assembly component relative to a second ball joint assembly component, is applied to an oscillation angle calibration equation to determine a ride height of a vehicle at a suspension assembly [0039: “The method 300 includes, at 302, receiving ball joint sensor data, which is associated with an articulation angle of a ball joint. In one aspect, the ball joint articulates when a suspension assembly of at least a portion of a vehicle moves relative to a chassis of the vehicle For example, ball joint sensor data may be received from the ball joint sensor 126a, and the ball joint sensor data may be associated with an articulation measure (e.g., angle) of a ball joint coupled to the front right suspension assembly of the vehicle 100. In one example, the raw sensor data from the ball joint sensor may be a voltage or current measurement, which may be used to determine an articulation angle in a direction (e.g., forward or rearward)”] [0042: “The method includes, at 308, determining, based the ball joint sensor data and on steering rack travel data, a suspension displacement (e.g., ride height) at a portion of the vehicle (e.g., the quadrant or corner or suspension assembly of the ball joint sensor). For example, the ball joint sensor data may be used to determine an articulation angle and articulation direction of the ball joint. Based on the articulation angle and direction and on the steering rack travel distance and direction, suspension displacement may be determined, such as by referencing the 3D plot illustrated by the graph 210 or the mathematical relationships represented by the 3D plot”].
Melkote teaches that the oscillation fluctuation at the ball joint assembly can be used to determine a vehicle ride height at various portions of the vehicle which is useful when planning driving operations in advance, such as for example, in an autonomous vehicle [0010]. The vehicle height can be used for determining vehicle roll and pitch, which affect the field of view of LIDAR sensor or camera [0010].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the oscillation angle fluctuation determined by Klank with the mathematical relationships disclosed by Melkote to determine a vehicle ride height, because the vehicle ride height can be used to plan vehicle driving operations in advance, such as with when the vehicle drive autonomously, and can be used to determine the field of view of a LIDAR sensor or camera typically used to control vehicle travel during autonomous operation.
Claim(s) 7 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Klank (DE 10 2008 041 050 A1) in view of Askew (US Patent Number 3,955,636).
Regarding claim 7, Klank discloses the package of claim 4 as discussed above but does not disclose wherein the PCB is further configured to determine one or more of a ride height of the vehicle at a point of interest and a payload capacity of the vehicle based on the ride height at the suspension assembly.
Askew discloses a sensor package (including sensor arm 2 and transducer unit 3) in communication with a photoelectric cell circuit so that the circuit is configured to determine one or more of a ride height of the vehicle at a point of interest and a payload capacity of the vehicle based on the ride height at the suspension assembly (Col. 4, lines 18-28: “Referring once again to FIG. 2, as a load is placed on the tray of the truck, tray channel piece 4 depresses carrying with it transducer means 3 which urges toggle arm 11 and spindle 14 (in FIG. 1) to rotate. As spindle 14 rotates, it co-operates with a light beam and shutter member to modify the beam of light which modification is detected by a photoelectric cell and the output of the photoelectric cell circuit is fed to a meter which is calibrated to provide an indication of the weight of the load on the axle in proportion to the maximum permitted load on the vehicle or axle”) (Col. 5, lines 1-11: “As the load on the tray of the truck is increased, the quantity of incident light on the active surface area of the photoelectric cell will also increase and as a result the electrical property of the photoelectric cell, which is dependent upon the quantity of incident light will proportionately change. The output of the photoelectric cell circuit is fed to a suitable meter which is calibrated to register, or at least provide an indication of, the relative weight on the axle of the vehicle in relation to the maximum legal load”)
Askew teaches that various government regulations govern the maximum load on different types of trucks that may not be exceeded and thus a device for indicating when the payload capacity has been reached is necessary (Col. 1, lines 10-15).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the photoelectric cell circuit and sensor package disclosed by Askew with the PCB disclosed by Klank to determine the payload capacity using the ride height at the suspension assembly as taught by Askew to comply with existing maximum payload vehicle regulations.
Regarding claim 20, Klank discloses the method of claim 9 as discussed above but does not disclose the method further comprising determining one or more of a payload capacity of the vehicle and ride height of the vehicle at a point of interest based on at least one ride height at a suspension assembly of the vehicle.
Askew discloses a sensor package (including sensor arm 2 and transducer unit 3) in communication with a photoelectric cell circuit so that the circuit is configured to determine one or more of a ride height of the vehicle at a point of interest and a payload capacity of the vehicle based on the ride height at a suspension assembly of the vehicle (Col. 4, lines 18-28: “Referring once again to FIG. 2, as a load is placed on the tray of the truck, tray channel piece 4 depresses carrying with it transducer means 3 which urges toggle arm 11 and spindle 14 (in FIG. 1) to rotate. As spindle 14 rotates, it co-operates with a light beam and shutter member to modify the beam of light which modification is detected by a photoelectric cell and the output of the photoelectric cell circuit is fed to a meter which is calibrated to provide an indication of the weight of the load on the axle in proportion to the maximum permitted load on the vehicle or axle”) (Col. 5, lines 1-11: “As the load on the tray of the truck is increased, the quantity of incident light on the active surface area of the photoelectric cell will also increase and as a result the electrical property of the photoelectric cell, which is dependent upon the quantity of incident light will proportionately change. The output of the photoelectric cell circuit is fed to a suitable meter which is calibrated to register, or at least provide an indication of, the relative weight on the axle of the vehicle in relation to the maximum legal load”)
Askew teaches that various government regulations govern the maximum load on different types of trucks that may not be exceeded and thus a device for indicating when the payload capacity has been reached is necessary (Col. 1, lines 10-15).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the photoelectric cell circuit and sensor package disclosed by Askew with the PCB disclosed by Klank to determine the payload capacity using the ride height at the suspension assembly as taught by Askew to comply with existing maximum payload vehicle regulations.
Conclusion
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Lindsay M. Low can be reached on (571) 272-1196. The fax phone number for the organization where
this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JOSHUA CAMPBELL/
Examiner, Art Unit 3747
3747 /LOGAN M KRAFT/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3747