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 .
Inventorship
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claim 29 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because
the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more. The claim(s) recite(s) predicting, based on a current driving distance of the vehicle, a distance and/or speed profile of the vehicle in the coasting mode (observation); comparing (evaluation/judgment) the predicted distance and/or the predicted speed profile of the vehicle with a tolerance band limit of an entry tolerance band around a target distance and/or around a target speed of the distance and/or speed control of the vehicle to produce a comparison, wherein the entry tolerance band is narrower in relation to at least one tolerance band limit than an exit tolerance band that is used to decide whether to exit from the coasting mode; and starting the coasting mode depending on the comparison (judgement). The claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because the claim limitations perform abstract idea of observation/evaluation/judgement) processes there is no computer/controller/processor for predicting/comparing the distance and speed profile of the vehicle.
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) 12-17, 29 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by He et al (11,787,405).
He et al teaches based on a current driving distance of the vehicle, predict a distance and/or a speed profile of the vehicle in the coasting mode (see figure 3 step 302, 304); compare the predicted distance and/or the predicted speed profile of the vehicle with a tolerance band limit of an entry tolerance band around a target distance and/or around a target speed of a distance and/or speed control of the vehicle to produce a comparison (see step 306, 308 figure 3), wherein the entry tolerance band is narrower in relation to at least one tolerance band limit than an exit tolerance band, which is used to decide whether to exit from the coasting mode; and start the coasting mode depending on the comparison (see figure 310 figure 3).
For claim 13 see col. 8 lines 6-13.
For claim 14 see col. 8 lines 42-59.
For claim 15 see col. 9 lines 17-26.
For claim 16 see col. 9 lines 17-26.
For claim 17 see col. 9 lines 17-26.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 18-28 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HAI H HUYNH whose telephone number is (571)272-4844. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:00 AM-4:00 PM.
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/HAI H HUYNH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3747
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