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 .
Drawings
The drawings were received on December 3rd 2024. These drawings are accepted.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on June 25th 2026. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d).
The certified copy has been filed on January 14th 2025.
Specification
The specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware of, in the specification.
Status of Claims
This Final rejection is in response to the applicant’s filing on May 5th 2026;
Claims 2 and 4 are canceled
Claims 1, 3 and 5 are pending and examined below.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s amendments with respect to the claim interpretation have been fully considered and persuasive. Therefore, has been withdrawn.
Applicant’s amendments with respect to the rejection of claims under 35 USC § 103 have been fully considered but are moot. While the Examiner notes that the applicant is arguing the claim limitations recite " … calculate an estimated parameter including at least one of an estimated output torque of each of the motors, an estimated input power to each of the motors, and an estimated torque constant of each of the motors using a predetermined estimation method for obtaining a relation between an input to each motor and an output from each motor…which is one of the motors other than the reference motor, under a condition in which the input to the reference motor and the input to the non- reference motor are equal, so as to eliminate an estimation error contained in the estimated parameter… “. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn; However, upon further consideration a new ground(s) of rejection is made for Claims 1 over Mokino (Patent No. US9205760B2) in view of Sawada (Patent No. US11912136B2) and Ono Sho (Patent No. JP2023104807A).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1,3 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mokino (Patent No. US9205760B2) in view of Sawada (Patent No. US11912136B2) and Ono Sho (Patent No. JP2023104807A)
Regarding claim 1 Mokino teaches, in which a plurality of motors are connected respectively to a plurality of wheels; (See Makino abstract and figure 1; “…motor units that independently drive left and right drive wheels. The electric vehicle includes the motor units...”); each of the motors generates torque in accordance with its own characteristics; (See Makino column 9, line 10-14; “difference in torque output characteristic between the two traction motor units 6, 6 which independently drive the respective left and right drive wheels 2, 2, the output torque can be automatically adjusted during travelling of the vehicle.”);
and a drive force established by each of the wheels driven by the motors is controlled independently by controlling an output torque of each of the motors independently; (See Makino column 9, line 10-14; “…even when there is a difference in torque output characteristic between the two traction motor units 6, 6 which independently drive the respective left and right drive wheels 2, 2, the output torque can be automatically adjusted during travelling of the vehicle.”); comprising: a control unit that controls the electric vehicle and the motors; (See Makino column 6-7, line 48-5 ; “The ECU 21 may include a torque command unit 23 that is configured to generate an accelerating/decelerating command in the form of torque command values TL*, TR*, which will influence the traction motor units 6, 6 of the left and right wheels…the ECU 21 may have a function to control each component of the vehicle based on signals produced from various sensors such as a speed sensor, a load sensor, and a wheel rotation sensor (which are not shown) provided in the vehicle.”); wherein the control unit comprises: a parameter estimator that is configured to calculate an estimated parameter including at least one of an estimated output torque of each of the motors, an estimated input power to each of the motors; (See Makino column 7, line 15-20; “ The motor control circuitry 26 includes a basic controller 27 that may generate a current command that performs controls such that the power circuitry 25 outputs a motor drive current IL or IR corresponding to the torque command value TL* or TR* produced from the torque command unit 23 of the ECU 21.”); and an estimated torque constant of each of the motors using a predetermined estimation method for obtaining a relation between an input to each motor and an output from each motor; (See Makino column 7, line 35-44; “Referring to FIG. 2, the torque difference occurrence determiner 31 is configured to determine that a difference has occurred between actual driving forces TL, TR of the respective left and right drive wheels 2 even when the torque command unit 23 applies the same torque command values TL*, TR* to the respective left and right two traction motor units 6, 6. The driving forces TL, TR of the respective left and right drive wheels 2 correspond to torques TL, TR outputted from the respective left and right traction motor units 6, 6 provided that transmission efficiency is not considered.”);
a characteristic difference calculator that is configured to calculate a relative difference between the estimated parameter of the reference motor and the estimated parameter of a non-reference motor; (See Makino column 6-7, line 48-4; “The driving force difference reducer 32 is configured to, if the torque difference occurrence determiner 31 determines that a driving force difference equal to or greater than a set value has occurred between the left and right drive wheels 2, 2, cause control of reducing the driving force difference to be performed during travelling of the vehicle. The set value may be set as appropriate by design or the like. The control of reducing the driving force difference may be control of increasing the driving force of the traction motor unit 6 having a smaller driving force, reducing the driving force of the traction motor unit 6 having a greater driving force, or performing both. Specifically, the control of reducing the driving force difference is control of adjusting the torque command values TL*, TR* provided by the torque command unit 23 of the ECU 21 to the respective inverter units 22, before the torque command values TL*, TR* are inputted to the basic controllers 27.”);
Makino does not explicitly teach but Sawada teaches, a control system for an electric vehicle; (See Sawada column 22, line 18; “…FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration of an electric vehicle system 100 to which the electric vehicle control method (control device) according to this embodiment is applied…”);
which is one of the motors other than the reference motor, under a condition in which the input to the reference motor and the input to the non- reference motor are equal, so as to eliminate an estimation error contained in the estimated parameter; (See Sawada column 16-17, line 51-4; “As shown in FIG. 12, in the rear limiting torque setting process, the rear limiting torque T.sub.rr is calculated by performing the processes of Step S1002B and Step S1003B in addition to the aforementioned Step S1001 based on the rear disturbance torque estimation value T.sub.dr, rear motor rotation speed ω.sub.mr, and accelerator pedal opening APO. Here, Step S1002B is similar to Step S1002A of FIG. 11, but the rear motor rotation speed addition torque is set based on the map shown in FIG. 15 (preferably the same as the map shown in FIG. 14) in the same manner as the setting of the aforementioned front motor rotation speed addition torque using the rear motor rotation speed ω.sub.mr as the input value. Step S1003B is similar to Step S1003A of FIG. 11, but the rear limiting torque T.sub.rr is calculated and output by adding the addition torque (APO addition torque and rear motor rotation speed addition torque) to the rear disturbance torque estimation value T.sub.dr. Similar to the above, as long as the rear motor torque command value T.sub.mr is set to the rear limiting torque T.sub.rr, the rear drive wheel 9r can apply longitudinal acceleration to the electric vehicle regardless of the road surface condition.”);
and a motor torque controller that is configured to control an output torque of at non-reference motor so as to adjust a calculated torque based on: a command value of the output torque of the non-reference motor and at least one of: a difference between the estimated output torques of the reference motor and the non-reference motor; (See Sawada column 16, line 26-44; “In Step S1003A, the motor controller 2 calculates and outputs the front limiting torque T.sub.rf by adding the addition torque (APO addition torque and front motor rotation speed addition torque) to the front disturbance torque estimation value T.sub.df. Here, the front limiting torque T.sub.rf is higher than the front disturbance torque estimation value T.sub.df by the addition torque, but the slipping rate of the front drive wheel 9f, for example, can be set to be in the range of 10% to 20%, and can be set in a manner that the slipping rate of the front drive wheel 9f does not exceed the first predetermined value (for example, 20%) (in the characteristic curve showing the relation between the slipping rate and the longitudinal frictional force of the drive wheel 9, the slipping rate does not exceed the slipping rate near the peak value of the longitudinal frictional force). Thereby, as long as the front motor torque command value T.sub.mf is set to the front limiting torque T.sub.rf, the front drive wheel 9f can apply longitudinal acceleration to the electric vehicle regardless of the road surface condition.”);
a difference between the estimated input powers to the reference motor and the non-reference motor; and a difference between the estimated torque constants of the reference motor and the non-reference motor; (See Sawada column 17, line 42-57; “In the case of (A), from the time t3 to t4, as the front motor torque command value T.sub.mf continues to increase based on the accelerator pedal opening APO, the difference between the front motor torque command value T.sub.mf and the front disturbance torque estimation value T.sub.df increases, and the slipping rate of the drive wheel 9 increases. Further, when the slipping rate exceeds the first predetermined value (for example, 20%), the frictional force in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle with respect to the drive wheel 9 decreases, and thus, the front disturbance torque estimation value T.sub.df decreases. For this reason, since the slipping rate increases sharply, the front motor rotation speed ω.sub.mf increases sharply (over-rotation state), while the vehicle longitudinal acceleration decreases sharply, resulting in acceleration failure, and the vehicle speed does not increase, either.”).
Both Makino and Sawada are in the same field of electric vehicle management. It would have been obvious for one ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of present invention to modify Makino wheels driven by the motors controlled independently by controlling an output torque with Sawada a difference between the estimated output torques of the reference motor and the non-reference motor. No new functionality would arise from the combination and the combination would improve usability of Makino by adding Sawada estimated output torques of the reference motor and the non-reference motor to allow a better control of electric motors that are connected to the vehicle wheels, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Makino does not explicitly teach but Ono Sho teaches, a reference motor selector that is configured to select a reference motor from among the motors; (See Ono Sho paragraph 00216; “In the estimated torque calculation process of the first or second embodiment, the d-axis current command value id*, the q-axis current command value iq*, and the f-axis current command value if* are calculated from the target torque command value Tm*. , with reference to the current response models of the rotor and stator of the first drive motor…”).
Both Makino and Ono Sho are in the same field of electric vehicle management. It would have been obvious for one ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of present invention to modify Makino wheels driven by the motors controlled independently by controlling an output torque with Makino by adding Ono Sho multiple electric motors with separate characteristics and selecting the reference motor to allow a better control of electric motors that are connected to the vehicle wheels, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 3, Makino in view of Sawada and Ono Sho teaches the control system for the electric vehicle as claimed in claim 1, Makino does not specifically teaches but Ono Sho teaches, wherein a permanent magnet synchronous motor is adopted as each of the motors; (See Ono Sho paragraph 0011; “In this embodiment, the F drive motor 4f is an interior permanent magnet synchronous motor (IPMSM), and the R drive motor 4r is an electrically excited synchronous motor (EESM). ).”); the parameter estimator calculates magnet fluxes of the motors; (See Ono Sho paragraph 0077; “II-2. R Estimated Torque Calculation Processing FIG. As illustrated, the estimated torque calculator 802 has a reluctance torque equivalent magnetic flux estimator 901 , a field magnetic flux estimator 902 , and a torque calculator 903 .”); the characteristic difference calculator calculates the relative difference between the magnet flux of the reference motor and the magnet flux of the non-reference motor; (See Ono Sho paragraph 00214; “Further, in the estimated torque calculation process of the second or third embodiment, the γ-axis current command value iγ* and the δ-axis current command value iδ* are calculated from the target torque command value Tm*, and the γ-axis current command value iγ* and Estimated torque T^m is calculated from the δ-axis current command value iδ* with reference to the magnetic flux response model and current response model of the first drive motor (RR drive motor 4rr or RL drive motor 4rl in the second or third embodiment). (Eqs. (72) and (73)).”); and the motor torque controller corrects current value of the non-reference motor based on the relative difference between the magnet flux of the reference motor and the magnet flux of the non-reference motor so as to eliminate difference between the output torques of the refence motor and the non-reference motor; (See Ono Sho paragraph 0080, 0082-0083 and 0085; “A field magnetic flux estimator 902 receives the R 1f-axis current command value ifr1* as an input and calculates a field magnetic flux estimated value φ̂f by the following equation (38).
Then, the magnetic flux estimated value φ̂ is calculated from the sum of the reluctance torque equivalent magnetic flux estimated value φ̂r and the field magnetic flux estimated value φ̂f, and is input to the torque calculator 903 .
A torque calculation unit 903 receives the R first q-axis current command value iqr1* and the estimated magnetic flux φ̂ and calculates the R estimated torque T̂mr by the following equation (39).
II-3. R Vibration Suppression Control Calculation Processing FIG. As shown, the damping control calculation unit 803 includes an F/F compensation calculation unit 1001, a first delay correction unit 1002, a pre-correction motor angular velocity estimation unit 1003, a corrected motor angular velocity estimation unit 1004, a second delay It has a correction unit 1005 and an F/B compensation calculation unit 1006 .”); thereby reducing the difference between the torques of the reference motor and other motor resulting from such differences between the magnet fluxes; (See Ono Sho paragraph 00206-00207 and 00214; “in the torque command value correction process, the communication delay between the motor controllers is considered for the F motor angular velocity detection value ωmf based on the second estimated torque (R estimated torque T^mr) calculated by the R motor controller 31r. (second delay correction unit 705).
As a result, in the electric vehicle 100 equipped with a plurality of drive motors 4, in the control calculation for correcting the target torque command value Tm* based on the rotation state of the drive motor 4 controlled by one motor controller 31, each motor It is possible to refer to the rotation state in consideration of the communication delay between the controllers. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the delay in the torque response caused by the communication delay, and to realize the torque response according to the intended behavior of the electric vehicle…, in the estimated torque calculation process of the second or third embodiment, the γ-axis current command value iγ* and the δ-axis current command value iδ* are calculated from the target torque command value Tm*, and the γ-axis current command value iγ* and Estimated torque T^m is calculated from the δ-axis current command value iδ* with reference to the magnetic flux response model and current response model of the first drive motor (RR drive motor 4rr or RL drive motor 4rl in the second or third embodiment). (Eqs. (72) and (73)).”).
Both Makino and Ono Sho are in the same field of electric vehicle management. It would have been obvious for one ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of present invention to modify Makino wheels driven by the motors controlled independently by controlling an output torque with Makino by adding Ono Sho permanent magnet synchronous motor calculation, estimation and adjustment of magnet fluxes to allow a better control of electric motors that are connected to the vehicle wheels, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 5 Makino in view of Sawada and Ono Sho teaches the control system for the electric vehicle as claimed in claim 3, Makino further teaches, the characteristic difference calculator calculates the relative difference between the estimated parameter of the reference motor and the estimated parameter of the non-reference motor using the following formula: ΔΦ1⋅n = Φ1_est - Φn_est, where ΔΦ1⋅n is the relative difference, Φ1_est is the estimated parameter of the reference motor, and Φn_est estimated parameter of the non-reference motor; (See Makino column 10, line 30-54; “FIG. 4, when the torque difference occurrence determiner 31: has determined that the steering angle θs is at a steering neutral position based on the information of the steering angle θs (step S1); has determined that the same torque command values TL*, TR* are applied from the torque command unit 23 to the left and right two traction motor units 6, 6 (S2); and has determined that the brakes 16 are in a non-actuated state based on the braking signal B (S3), if the steering torque Ts is equal to or higher than the threshold εTS (a value based on which it is determined that a torque difference practically has occurred) (S4), the torque difference occurrence determiner 31 determines that a difference has occurred between the actual driving forces of the respective left and right drive wheels 2 (S5). In other words, when
|θs|<εθ;
|TL*−T.sub.R*|<εT; and
B=0
if |Ts|≧εTS,
the torque difference occurrence determiner 31 determines that TL≠TR.”).
Makino does not specifically states but Ono Scho teaches, wherein the magnet flux calculated as the estimated parameter is expressed by the following expression: Φn_est = Φn + en where Φn_est the magnet flux, n identifies one of the motors, Φn is a true value of the magnet flux of the motor identified by n in an estimation model, and en is the estimation error of the motor identified by n; (See Ono Sho paragraph 0078 and 0080; “A reluctance torque equivalent magnetic flux estimator 901 receives the R-th d-axis current command value idr1* and calculates a reluctance torque equivalent magnetic flux estimated value φ̂r by the following equation (37).
A field magnetic flux estimator 902 receives the R 1f-axis current command value ifr1* as an input and calculates a field magnetic flux estimated value φ̂f by the following equation (38).
the characteristic difference calculator calculates the relative difference between the estimated parameter of the reference motor and the estimated parameter of the non-reference motor using the following formula: ΔΦ1⋅n = Φ1_est - Φn_est, where ΔΦ1⋅n is the relative difference, Φ1_est is the estimated parameter of the reference motor, and Φn_est estimated parameter of the non-reference motor”); and the motor torque controller corrects the current value of the non-reference motor so as to reduce a torque difference ΔT between the output torques of the reference motor and the non-reference motor, the torque difference ΔT being calculated using the formula: ΔT = np ⋅ ΔΦ1⋅n ⋅ iqn where np is a number of poles of the motor, and iqn is a q-axis current of the non- reference motor; (See Ono Sho paragraph 00228; “Further, according to each embodiment, each motor controller 31 that functions as an electric vehicle control device suitable for the electric vehicle control method is provided. In particular, each motor controller 31 includes an estimated torque calculation processing unit that executes the estimated torque calculation process, an estimated torque output unit that executes the estimated torque output process, and a torque command value correction unit that executes the torque command value correction process, and a current command value calculation unit that executes the current command value calculation process.”).
Both Makino and Ono Sho are in the same field of electric vehicle management. It would have been obvious for one ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of present invention to modify Makino wheels driven by the motors controlled independently by controlling an output torque with Makino by adding Ono Sho permanent magnet synchronous motor calculation, estimation and adjustment of magnet fluxes to allow a better control of electric motors that are connected to the vehicle wheels, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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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/L.K./Examiner, Art Unit 3666
/JESS WHITTINGTON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3666c
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