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
Status of Claims
Claims 1-5 of U.S. Application No. 18/973555 filed on 12/09/2024 have been examined.
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 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 1-20 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Oh et al. [US 2022/0084497 A1], hereinafter referred to as Oh.
As to Claim 1 and 5, Oh discloses a battery electric vehicle including an electric motor as a driving source, the battery electric vehicle comprising: a driving operation member to be used for driving the battery electric vehicle ([see at least Fig. 2 and 0071]); a processing circuit ([see at least Fig. 2 and 0197]); and a storage device configured to store a database for managing a plurality of vehicle models for a plurality of virtual vehicles having different acceleration characteristics for a driving operation by a driver ([see at least Fig. 2, 0197 and 0199]), wherein the processing circuit is configured to: read, from the database, a target vehicle model associated with a target virtual vehicle selected from among the plurality of virtual vehicles by the driver ([see at least Fig. 1, Fig. 2, 0033, 0049 and 0078]); set a coefficient that is a value of 1 or less according to the acceleration characteristic of the target virtual vehicle ([see at least Fig. 2, 0145 and 0180]); calculate an adjusted vehicle speed by multiplying a vehicle speed of the battery electric vehicle by an inverse of the coefficient ([see at least Fig. 2, Fig. 7, 0145, 0151 and 0180]); calculate a virtual acceleration of the target virtual vehicle in response to an operation on the driving operation member using the target vehicle model based on an operation state of the driving operation member and the adjusted vehicle speed; calculate an adjusted virtual acceleration by multiplying the virtual acceleration by the coefficient ([see at least Fig. 2, Fig. 7, 0145, 0151-0153 and 0180]); and control the electric motor to bring an acceleration of the battery electric vehicle to the adjusted virtual acceleration ([see at least Fig. 2, Fig. 7, 0145, 0151-0153 and 0180]).
As to Claim 2, Oh discloses a battery electric vehicle, wherein the processing circuit is configured to: when the acceleration characteristic of the target virtual vehicle exceeds an acceleration capability of the battery electric vehicle, set the coefficient to a value less than 1 at which the adjusted virtual acceleration is within a range of the acceleration capability of the battery electric vehicle; and when the acceleration characteristic of the target virtual vehicle does not exceed the acceleration capability of the battery electric vehicle, set the coefficient to 1 ([see at least Fig. 5, 0145 and 0180]).
As to Claim 3, Oh discloses a battery electric vehicle, wherein the processing circuit is configured to, while the battery electric vehicle is decelerating, set the coefficient to 1 regardless of the acceleration characteristic of the target virtual vehicle ([see at least Fig. 5, Fig.7, 0145 and 0180]).
As to Claim 4, Oh discloses a battery electric vehicle, wherein the processing circuit is configured to: calculate a target driving force of the battery electric vehicle for bringing the acceleration of the battery electric vehicle to the adjusted virtual acceleration; and change a motor torque to be output by the electric motor to apply the target driving force to the battery electric vehicle ([see at least Fig. 5, Fig.7, 0145 and 0180]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YAZAN A SOOFI whose telephone number is (469)295-9189. The examiner can normally be reached on Flex schedule.
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/YAZAN A SOOFI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3668
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