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 .
DETAIL ACTION
Notice to Applicant(s)
This application has been examined. Claims 1-25 are pending.
The prior arts submitted on September 04, 2024 and August 11, 2026 have been considered.
Receipt is acknowledged of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. § 119, which have been placed of record in the file.
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.
Claims 1-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chaudhuri et al. (2024/0109582).
As per claim 1, Chaudhuri et al. disclose a force feedback system which includes a steering shaft (see figure 1, item 16); a Hall sensor magnet carried by the steering shaft (see figure 1, item 18); an electrically controlled brake configured to engage the steering shaft (see figure 1, item 12); an electronically controlled motor configured to engage the steering shaft (see figure 1, item 14); inherently at least one electrical power source; a brake drive amplifier, the brake drive amplifier receives electrical power from the at least one electrical power source and the brake drive amplifier provides electrical current to the electronically controlled brake (see figure 1, item 24); motor drive amplifier, the motor drive amplifier receives electrical power from the at least one electrical power source and the motor drive amplifier provides electrical current to the electronically controlled motor (see figure 1, item 24); a first pair of angular position sensors, the first pair of angular position sensors receive electrical power from the at least one electrical power source (see at least paragraphs 0006, 0007, 0037-0039); a vehicle controller, the vehicle controller in data communication with the first pair of angular position sensors (see at least figure 1, items 30, 32).
As per claim 2, Chaudhuri et al. disclose that the first pair of angular position sensors is positioned to monitor radial changes in the Hall sensor magnet (see at least paragraph 0037).
As per claim 3, Chaudhuri et al. further disclose a second pair of angular position sensors, the second pair of angular position sensors receive electrical power from the at least one electrical power source; and, the first and second pairs of angular position sensors are positioned to monitor radial changes in the Hall sensor magnet (see at least paragraphs 0033, 0037-0039, 0043, 0044, 0046, 0048, 0049, 0052).
As per claim 4, Chaudhuri et al. further disclose a microcontroller which is in data communication with the vehicle controller, the first pair of angular position sensors, the brake drive amplifier and the motor drive amplifier and the microcontroller receives electrical power from the at least one electrical power source (see at least figure 1, item 22).
As per claim 5, Chaudhuri et al. disclose that the microcontroller is programed to receive vehicle data over a digital communication bus and to control the electronically controlled motor and the electronically controlled brake in response to the received vehicle data (see at least figure 1, items 22, 34).
As per claims 6 and 7, it is inherently that there are the electrical power sources to the amplifiers and microcontroller.
As per claims 12 and 19, Chaudhuri et al. disclose that further includes a main microcontroller and a safety microcontroller in case of failure (see at least figure 1, items 30, 32; paragraph 0039).
With respect to claims 8-11, 13-18, the limitations of these claims have been noted in the rejections above. They are therefore considered rejected as set forth above.
Claims 20-25 are allowable.
Conclusion
Claims 1-19 are rejected. Claims 20-25 are allowable.
The following references are cited as being of general interest: Whang (7,127,341), Erickson et al. (2021/0070361) and Kotula et al. (2021/0229738).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TAN QUANG NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571) 272-6966. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday to Thursday from 7:00am to 5:30pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Peter Nolan, can be reached at 570-270-7016.
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September 2, 2026
/TAN Q NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3661
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