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 .
Priority
2. Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. KR10-2024-0017551, filed on 02/05/2024.
Drawings
3. The drawings are objected to because reference character 13 has been used to designate both "a control information generation unit" in the specification and "Right pressure acquisition unit" in Figure 2 and reference character S153 has been used to designate "a right power providing step" in both the specification and in Figure 8 and "Control information derivation step" in Figure 7 while reference character S135 has been used to designate the "control information derivation step" in the specification.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
4. Claims 4 and 8 are objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 4 recites the limitation “a right power providing module to provide a right power, which is power for a right wheel installed on the wheelchair, in the amount included in the left control information” and claim 8 similarly recites the limitation “providing right power, which is power for a right wheel installed on the wheelchair, in the amount included in the left control information”. Each of these limitations appear to contain a typographical error and should instead read: “in the amount included in the right control information”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
5. The following is a quotation of the second paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112:
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.
6. Claims 3, 4, 7, and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
a. Claim 3 recites the limitation “a control information derivation module configured to reflect the state estimation information in the speed information and derive the control information.” in lines 7-8. The phrase “reflect the state estimation information in the speed information” does not identify what operation or relationship between the state estimation information and speed information is required. It is unclear whether “reflect” requires modifying, correcting, filtering, weighting, replacing, or otherwise combining the speed information with the state estimation information. Therefore, the scope of the control information derivation module cannot be determined with reasonable certainty.
b. Claim 7 recites the limitation “deriving the control information by reflecting the state estimation information into the speed information.” in lines 6-7. The phrase “reflecting the state estimation information into the speed information” does not identify what operation or relationship between the state estimation information and speed information is required. It is unclear whether “reflecting” requires modifying, correcting, filtering, weighting, replacing, or otherwise combining the speed information with the state estimation information. Therefore, the scope of the control information derivation module cannot be determined with reasonable certainty.
c. Claims 4 and 8 are rejected as depending upon a rejected claim.
7. In view of the rejections above under 35 USC § 112, the claims referred to in any and all rejections below are rejected as best understood.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
8. 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention
9. Claims 1, 2, 5, and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Freeman (GB2479555A).
a. Regarding claim 1, Freeman discloses a wheelchair guardian operating handle control system configured to operate wheelchair 10 [wheelchair 10 also includes a propulsion apparatus and a power-assistance apparatus. The propulsion apparatus includes a pair of handles 18a, 18b which are positioned behind the seat 12 of the wheelchair 10, in conventional fashion, page 5 lines 24-27] capable of moving by receiving power using electric drive system 26a, 26b [wheelchair 10 also includes a motive device in the form of a motor 26a, 26b associated with each wheel, for providing power to each wheel, to enable rotational movement of the wheel in both directions, page 6 lines 16-18], pressure acquisition unit 24a, 24b disposed on a rear side of wheelchair 10 configured to acquire a control pressure applied by a guardian [a measurement device for measuring the amount of force applied manually to the handles 18. In this example, the measurement device includes a pair load cells 24a, 24b, each of which is associated a respective one of the handles 18a, 18b; Each load cell 24a, 24b is operable to measure the magnitude and direction of the force being applied to the handle 18 with which the load cell 24a, 24b is associated, page 6 lines 7-14], control information generation unit 28 configured to process the control pressure [load cells 24a, 24b detect the force being applied to the respective handles 18a, 18b. A signal is transmitted from each of the load cells 24a, 24b to the controller 28, page 8 lines 28-30] to determine a movement speed and generate a control information to control wheels 14a, 14b of wheelchair 10 according to the movement speed and a wheel driving unit that configured to acquire the control information and control a speed of each of the wheels 14a, 14b positioned on opposite sides of the wheelchair according to the control information to perform the movement of the wheelchair [wheel speed and direction sensors provide signals to the controller, and thus, the controller monitors the speed and the direction of each of the wheels, page 9 lines 13-14].
b. Regarding claim 2, Freeman discloses the wheelchair guardian operating handle control system of claim 1, wherein the pressure acquisition unit comprises left pressure acquisition module 24a disposed on a left rear side based on a direction of the movement of the wheelchair and configured to obtain a left control pressure applied by the guardian and right pressure acquisition module 24b disposed on a right rear side based on the direction of the movement of the wheelchair and configured to obtain a right control pressure applied by the guardian [a measurement device for measuring the amount of force applied manually to the handles 18. In this example, the measurement device includes a pair load cells 24a, 24b, each of which is associated a respective one of the handles 18a, 18b; Each load cell 24a, 24b is operable to measure the magnitude and direction of the force being applied to the handle 18 with which the load cell 24a, 24b is associated, page 6 lines 7-14].
c. Regarding claim 5, Freeman discloses a method for controlling a guardian operating handle configured to operate wheelchair 10 [wheelchair 10 also includes a propulsion apparatus and a power-assistance apparatus. The propulsion apparatus includes a pair of handles 18a, 18b which are positioned behind the seat 12 of the wheelchair 10, in conventional fashion, page 5 lines 24-27] capable of moving by receiving power using an electric drive scheme [wheelchair 10 also includes a motive device in the form of a motor 26a, 26b associated with each wheel, for providing power to each wheel, to enable rotational movement of the wheel in both directions, page 6 lines 16-18] comprising acquiring a control pressure applied by a guardian using pressure acquisition unit 24a, 24b disposed on a rear side of wheelchair 10 [a measurement device for measuring the amount of force applied manually to the handles 18. In this example, the measurement device includes a pair load cells 24a, 24b, each of which is associated a respective one of the handles 18a, 18b; Each load cell 24a, 24b is operable to measure the magnitude and direction of the force being applied to the handle 18 with which the load cell 24a, 24b is associated, page 6 lines 7-14], processing the control pressure to determine a movement speed, and generating control information to control wheels of the wheelchair according to the movement speed by using a control information generation unit [wheelchair 10 also includes a motive device in the form of a motor 26a, 26b associated with each wheel, for providing power to each wheel, to enable rotational movement of the wheel in both directions, page 6 lines 16-18], and acquiring the control information and controlling a speed of each of wheels 14a, 14b positioned on opposite sides of wheelchair 10 according to the control information [wheel speed and direction sensors provide signals to the controller, and thus, the controller monitors the speed and the direction of each of the wheels, page 9 lines 13-14] by using a wheel driving unit to perform the movement of the wheelchair [The wheelchair includes a controller 26 for receiving signals from each of the load cells 24a, 24b relating to the magnitude and direction of the force being applied to each handle 18a, 18b, and to operate each of the motors 26a, 26b in accordance with the signals as described in detail below, page 6 lines 26-29].
d. Regarding claim 6, Freeman discloses the method of claim 5 wherein acquiring the control pressure comprises positioning on a left rear side based on a direction of the movement of the wheelchair and acquiring left control pressure applied by the guardian and positioning on a right rear side based on the direction of the movement of the wheelchair and acquiring a right control pressure applied by the guardian [wheelchair 10 also includes a propulsion apparatus and a power-assistance apparatus. The propulsion apparatus includes a pair of handles 18a, 18b which are positioned behind the seat 12 of the wheelchair 10, in conventional fashion, page 5 lines 24-27; a measurement device for measuring the amount of force applied manually to the handles 18. In this example, the measurement device includes a pair load cells 24a, 24b, each of which is associated a respective one of the handles 18a, 18b; Each load cell 24a, 24b is operable to measure the magnitude and direction of the force being applied to the handle 18 with which the load cell 24a, 24b is associated, page 6 lines 7-14]; A signal is transmitted from each of the load cells 24a, 24b to the controller 28, page 8 lines 28-30; wheel speed and direction sensors provide signals to the controller, and thus, the controller monitors the speed and the direction of each of the wheels, page 9 lines 13-14].
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
10. 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.
11. Claims 3, 4, 7, and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Freeman (GB2479555A) in view of Jorgensen (US 6,003,624).
a. Regarding claim 3, Freeman discloses the wheelchair guardian operating handle control system of claim 2 having control information generation unit 28 [load cells 24a, 24b detect the force being applied to the respective handles 18a, 18b. A signal is transmitted from each of the load cells 24a, 24b to the controller 28, page 8 lines 28-30] and a speed information generation module configured to generate speed information corresponding to the control pressure according to a predetermined criterion [wheel speed and direction sensors provide signals to the controller, and thus, the controller monitors the speed and the direction of each of the wheels, page 9 lines 13-14].
Freeman does not specifically teach a state estimation module configured to obtain the control pressure, estimate an optimal control and Kalman filter state, and generate state estimation information, and a control information derivation module configured to reflect the state estimation information in the speed information and derive the control information.
Jorgensen teaches a motorized wheeled passenger carrier control system employing a linear quadratic regulator (LQR) for optimal control and a reduced-order estimator, preferably a Kalman Estimator for generating estimated state estimation information wherein the estimated state vector is compared to the reference equilibrium vector including the passenger inputs and the resulting difference is fed back through the controller to generate a new system input and a control information derivation module configured to reflect the state estimation information in the speed information and derive the control information [The measured outputs are multiplexed (vector augmentation) with the system input u into a reduced-order estimator, which in preferred form is a Kalman Estimator. The Kalman Estimator estimates the three estimated states α, θ, and φ and their derivatives (the three velocity states) from the three measured outputs to form an estimated states vector. The estimated states vector is compared to the reference equilibrium vector (the passenger inputs). The compared difference is sent back into the controller to be processed through the FSF loop and multiplied by the feedback gains Kf to become a function of the new system input u, col. 10 lines 17-28, FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the basic sensing and control commands for active stabilization of the WPC; FIG. 8 is a more detailed diagram of FIG. 7 with a full state feedback loop with a reduced-order observer, a feed forward command and an integral error feedback loop] for the purpose of providing for optimizing the performance and response of the motorized wheelchair control system by using estimated wheelchair-state information to correct the control information supplied to the wheel motors.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the control system taught by Freeman to include a state estimation module to obtain the control pressure, estimate an optimal control and Kalman filter state, and generate state estimation information and a control information derivation module to reflect the state estimation information in the speed information and derive the control information as taught by Jorgensen because doing so would have provided for optimizing the performance and response of the motorized wheelchair control system by using estimated wheelchair-state information to correct the control information supplied to the wheel motors.
b. Regarding claim 4, Freeman in view of Jorgensen teaches the wheelchair guardian operating handle control system of claim 3. Freeman further discloses the wheel driving unit [wheel speed and direction sensors provide signals to the controller, and thus, the controller monitors the speed and the direction of each of the wheels, page 9 lines 13-14] comprises left power providing module 26a to provide left power for left wheel 14a installed on wheelchair 10 in an amount included in left control information if the control information includes the left control information and a right power providing module 26b to provide right power for right wheel 14b installed on wheelchair 10 in the amount included in the (right, see claim objection) control information if the control information includes right control information [wheelchair 10 also includes a motive device in the form of a motor 26a, 26b associated with each wheel, for providing power to each wheel, to enable rotational movement of the wheel in both directions, page 6 lines 16-18; The wheelchair includes a controller 26 for receiving signals from each of the load cells 24a, 24b relating to the magnitude and direction of the force being applied to each handle 18a, 18b, and to operate each of the motors 26a, 26b in accordance with the signals as described in detail below, page 6 lines 26-29].
c. Regarding claim 7, Freeman discloses the method of claim 6, wherein the processing the control pressure [load cells 24a, 24b detect the force being applied to the respective handles 18a, 18b. A signal is transmitted from each of the load cells 24a, 24b to the controller 28, page 8 lines 28-30] comprises generating speed information corresponding to the control pressure according to a predetermined criterion [The wheelchair includes a controller 26 for receiving signals from each of the load cells 24a, 24b relating to the magnitude and direction of the force being applied to each handle 18a, 18b, and to operate each of the motors 26a, 26b in accordance with the signals as described in detail below, page 6 lines 26-29; wheel speed and direction sensors provide signals to the controller, and thus, the controller monitors the speed and the direction of each of the wheels, page 9 lines 13-14].
Freeman does not specifically teach obtaining the control pressure and estimating an optimal control and Kalman filter state to generate state estimation information and deriving the control information by reflecting the state estimation information into the speed information.
Jorgensen teaches a motorized wheeled passenger carrier control system employing a linear quadratic regulator (LQR) for optimal control and a reduced-order estimator, preferably a Kalman Estimator for generating estimated state estimation information wherein the estimated state vector is compared to the reference equilibrium vector including the passenger inputs and the resulting difference is fed back through the controller to generate a new system input and a control information derivation module configured to reflect the state estimation information in the speed information and derive the control information [The measured outputs are multiplexed (vector augmentation) with the system input u into a reduced-order estimator, which in preferred form is a Kalman Estimator. The Kalman Estimator estimates the three estimated states α, θ, and φ and their derivatives (the three velocity states) from the three measured outputs to form an estimated states vector. The estimated states vector is compared to the reference equilibrium vector (the passenger inputs). The compared difference is sent back into the controller to be processed through the FSF loop and multiplied by the feedback gains Kf to become a function of the new system input u, col. 10 lines 17-28, FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the basic sensing and control commands for active stabilization of the WPC; FIG. 8 is a more detailed diagram of FIG. 7 with a full state feedback loop with a reduced-order observer, a feed forward command and an integral error feedback loop] for the purpose of providing for optimizing the performance and response of the motorized wheelchair control system by using estimated wheelchair-state information to correct the control information supplied to the wheel motors.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method taught by Freeman to include a state estimation module to obtain the control pressure, estimate an optimal control and Kalman filter state, and generate state estimation information and a control information derivation module to reflect the state estimation information in the speed information and derive the control information as taught by Jorgensen because doing so would have provided for optimizing the performance and response of the motorized wheelchair control system by using estimated wheelchair-state information to correct the control information supplied to the wheel motors.
d. Regarding claim 8, Freeman in view of Jorgensen teaches the method of claim 7. Freeman further discloses providing left power for left wheel 14a installed on wheelchair 10 in an amount included in left control information if the control information includes the left control information and providing right power for right wheel 14b installed on wheelchair 10 in the amount included in the (right, see claim objection) control information if the control information includes right control information [wheel speed and direction sensors provide signals to the controller, and thus, the controller monitors the speed and the direction of each of the wheels, page 9 lines 13-14; wheelchair 10 also includes a motive device in the form of a motor 26a, 26b associated with each wheel, for providing power to each wheel, to enable rotational movement of the wheel in both directions, page 6 lines 16-18; The wheelchair includes a controller 26 for receiving signals from each of the load cells 24a, 24b relating to the magnitude and direction of the force being applied to each handle 18a, 18b, and to operate each of the motors 26a, 26b in accordance with the signals as described in detail below, page 6 lines 26-29].
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Jeffrey Ryan Larsen whose telephone number is (571) 270-5458. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Thursday 8am-4pm est.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Amy Weisberg can be reached on (571) 270-5500. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/J. R. L./
Examiner, Art Unit 3612
/AMY R WEISBERG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3612
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