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
This Office action is in response to the amendments filed on September 08, 2026. Claims 1-20 are currently pending, with Claims 1-3, 7, 10, 12, 14-18, and 19 being amended.
Response to Amendments
In response to Applicant’s amendments, filed September 08, 2026, the Examiner withdraws the previous 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 rejections.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed September 08, 2026, with respect to the rejections of Claims 1-20 under Huck, in view of Park, Morawek, and Choby, have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new grounds of rejection is made in view of Huck, in view of Morawek, Park, and Choby.
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.
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.
Claims 1, 3-4, 7, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Publication No. 2013/0093365 A1, to Huck, et al (hereinafter referred to as Huck; previously of record), and further in view of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2015/0219473 A1, to Morawek (hereinafter referred to as Morawek; previously of record).
As per Claim 1, Huck discloses the features of a vehicle control apparatus of a vehicle (e.g. where a control unit detects the position of the opening/closing device), the vehicle control apparatus comprising:
a motor configured to move a sunroof of the vehicle to one of an open position and a closed position (e.g. Paragraphs [0002]-[0003], [0021]-[0022], [0031]; where a drive motor is controlled by a control unit, to detect the current position of the closing or opening element; and where the system relates to automatic closing devices, such as window lifters and roof closing installations);
a plurality of sensors configured to detect rotation of the motor (e.g. Paragraphs [0034]; where one or more sensors may be attached to the electric motor to detect the profile of the motor current and/or motor rotational speed); ‘…’
memory configured to store sensor values that are associated with rotation of the motor and are received from the plurality of sensors; and a processor configured to: store, in the memory, first sensor values (e.g. Paragraphs [0008], [0026], [0050]; where the position information is stored in the control unit or a data processing device, for the last-detected position of the closing element and the current position of the closing element), wherein
the first sensor values are received from the plurality of sensors while the vehicle control apparatus is in a wakeup mode and before a first time at which the vehicle control apparatus switches from the wakeup mode to a sleep mode (e.g. Paragraph [0010]; where the control unit is shifted to a normal operating mode, and the position information is detected); and wherein ‘…’
based on the vehicle control apparatus switching from the sleep mode to the wakeup mode at a second time after the first time (e.g. Paragraphs [0011]-[0012]; where the system detects if a wake-up condition is present in which the control unit changes over from the sleep mode to the normal operating mode), compare the first sensor values, stored in the memory, with second sensor values (e.g. Paragraphs [0008], [0050]; where the position information stored in the control unit for the last-detected position of the closing element and the current position of the closing element is compared), wherein
the second sensor values are received from the plurality of sensors after the second time and while the vehicle control apparatus is in the wakeup mode (e.g. Paragraphs [0008], [0010], [0022], [0035]; where the current position of the closing element is detected when the control unit shifts to the normal operating mode); and wherein ‘…’
determine, based on the comparison indicating that at least one of: the stored first ‘…’ sensor value differs from the current first ‘…’ sensor value, or the stored second ‘…’ sensor value differs from the current second ‘…’ sensor value, that a positional change of the sunroof occurred while the vehicle control apparatus was in the sleep mode (e.g. Paragraphs [0013], [0033], [0050]; where the position transmitter (9) can detect a relative change in position of a movement of the window pane (2), the system evaluates a current profile of motor current on the electric motor (4) to detect a relative change in position of the motor by adding up the position changes, and comparing to stored position data to determine if a maladjustment has occurred);
determine, in response to the determination that the positional change of the sunroof occurred, an adjustment value (e.g. Paragraphs [0012]; where the loading of the position information is stipulated with a correction value in order to correct the position information with respect to an actual position of the closing element), wherein
the adjustment value comprises a ‘…’ counter adjustment value (e.g. Paragraphs [0033], [0048]-[0049]; where the electric motor (4) can be provided with a position transmitter (9), which can detect a relative change in position of a movement of the window pane (2), and can emit pulses incrementing or decrementing a position counter implemented in the control unit (7)); and
adjust a position of the sunroof by controlling, based on the adjustment value, rotation of the motor (e.g. Paragraphs [0015], [0017], [0037]; where the position information can be corrected when the closing element has been calibrated; and the control unit (7) activates the electric motor (4) to commence movement of the window).
Huck fails to disclose every feature of wherein the plurality of sensors comprise a first Hall sensor and a second Hall sensor; the first sensor values comprise a stored first Hall sensor value received from the first Hall sensor and a stored second Hall sensor value received from the second Hall sensor; the second sensor values comprise a current first Hall sensor value received from the first Hall sensor and a current second Hall sensor value received from the second Hall sensor.
However, Morawek, in a similar field of endeavor, teaches a method for determining the position of a motor-driven actuating part, where sensor data includes measurement results obtained by means of specialty sensors, such as Hall sensors; and where the measurement data is transmitted from the motor (12) can include drive current and/or drive voltage, to derive or determine changes in position from the incoming measurement data, and together with the currently valid position from a position memory (17), a new position value is derived therefrom, to determine the absolute value of the change in position (e.g. Paragraphs [0035], [0038]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art on or before the effective filing date of the Applicant’s invention, with a reasonable expectation for success, to further modify the method for operating a vehicle closing device of Huck, in view of Park, with the feature of using a Hall sensor in the system of Morawek, in order to determine the updated position of the actuating part between absolute position determinations (see at least Paragraph [0020] of Morawek).
Morawek more explicitly teaches the features of determine, based on the comparison indicating that at least one of: the stored first Hall sensor value differs from the current first Hall sensor value, or the stored second Hall sensor value differs from the current second Hall sensor value, that a positional change of the sunroof ‘…’; and the adjustment value comprises a Hall counter adjustment value.
Morawek further teaches a method for determining the position of a motor-driven actuating part, where sensor data includes measurement results obtained by means of specialty sensors, such as Hall sensors; and where the measurement data is transmitted from the motor (12) can include drive current and/or drive voltage, to derive or determine changes in position from the incoming measurement data, and together with the currently valid position from a position memory (17), a new position value is derived therefrom, to determine the absolute value of the change in position, and where the system can ripple count the signals of the Hall sensor (e.g. Paragraphs [0035], [0020], [0038]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art on or before the effective filing date of the Applicant’s invention, with a reasonable expectation for success, to further modify the method for operating a vehicle closing device of Huck, in view of Park, with the feature of using a Hall sensor counter in the system of Morawek, in order to determine the updated position of the actuating part between absolute position determinations (see at least Paragraph [0020] of Morawek).
As per Claim 3, Huck, in view of Morawek, teaches the features of Claim 1, and Huck further discloses the features of wherein the processor is configured to
adjust the position of the sunroof by reverting a positional change of the sunroof that was not detected while the vehicle control apparatus was in the sleep mode (e.g. Paragraphs [0011]-[0012], [0015], [0017]; where the position information can be corrected when the closing element has been calibrated when the system detects if a wake-up condition is present in which the control unit changes over from the sleep mode to the normal operating mode), and wherein the processor is further configured to:
write, in the memory, the sensor values received from the plurality of sensors while the vehicle control apparatus is in the wakeup mode (e.g. Paragraphs [0008], [0026], [0050]; where the position information is stored in the control unit or a data processing device, for the last-detected position of the closing element and the current position of the closing element); and
stop writing, in the memory, any additional sensor values while the vehicle control apparatus is in the sleep mode (e.g. Paragraphs [0008], [0022], [0035]; where, in the sleep mode, no detection of the position information is carried out and no updating of the position counter takes place, and no current position information is available, and malignment of position information stored for the last-detected position of the closing elements and the current position after entering the normal mode can occur (i.e., no movement during the sleep mode is saved)).
As per Claim 4, Huck, in view of Morawek, teaches the features of Claim 1, and Huck further discloses the features of wherein the processor is configured to
compare the first sensor values with the second sensor values (e.g. Paragraphs [0008], [0050]; where the position information stored in the control unit for the last-detected position of the closing element and the current position of the closing element is compared) by:
receiving, from the plurality of sensors, the second sensor values while the vehicle control apparatus is in the wakeup mode after switching from the sleep mode (e.g. Paragraphs [0008], [0026], [0050]; where the position information is stored in the control unit or a data processing device, for the last-detected position of the closing element and the current position of the closing element);
retrieving, from the memory, the first sensor values that were stored while the vehicle control apparatus was in the wakeup mode before switching to the sleep mode (e.g. Paragraphs [0008], [0026], [0050]; where the position information is stored in the control unit or a data processing device, for the last-detected position of the closing element); and
comparing the first sensor values and the second sensor values (e.g. Paragraphs [0008], [0050]; where the position information stored in the control unit for the last-detected position of the closing element and the current position of the closing element is compared).
As per Claim 7, Huck, in view of Morawek, teaches the features of Claim 1, and Huck further discloses the features of wherein the processor is configured to determine the adjustment value by: based on the comparison indicating that one of the first sensor values is different from a corresponding value of the second sensor values, determining the Hall counter adjustment value further based on an edge associated with the different sensor values of the first sensor values and the second sensor values (e.g. Paragraphs [0013], [0016]; where the position of the closing element is loaded with a correction value in order to at least partially compensate for any undetected displacement in the closing element during the sleep mode in the opening direction, when it is determined that the closing element is moved against the stop edge).
As per Claim 15, Huck discloses the features of a method performed by an apparatus of a vehicle (e.g. where a control unit detects the position of the opening/closing device), the method comprising:
receiving, from a plurality of sensors ‘…’ while the apparatus is in a wakeup mode and before a first time at which the apparatus switches from the wakeup mode to a sleep mode, first sensor values (e.g. Paragraph [0010]; where the control unit is shifted to a normal operating mode, and the position information is detected);
based on determining that the apparatus has switched from the sleep mode to the wakeup mode at a second time after the first time (e.g. Paragraphs [0011]-[0012]; where the system detects if a wake-up condition is present in which the control unit changes over from the sleep mode to the normal operating mode), comparing the first sensor values with second sensor values (e.g. Paragraphs [0008], [0050]; where the position information stored in the control unit for the last-detected position of the closing element and the current position of the closing element is compared), wherein
the second sensor values are received from the plurality of sensors after the second time and while the apparatus is in the wakeup mode (e.g. Paragraphs [0008], [0010], [0022], [0035]; where the current position of the closing element is detected when the control unit shifts to the normal operating mode); ‘…’
determining, based on the comparison indicating that at least one of: the stored first ‘…’ sensor value differs from the current first ‘…’ sensor value, or the stored second ‘…’ sensor value differs from the current second ‘…’ sensor value, that a positional change of the sunroof occurred while the vehicle control apparatus was in the sleep mode (e.g. Paragraphs [0013], [0033], [0050]; where the position transmitter (9) can detect a relative change in position of a movement of the window pane (2), the system evaluates a current profile of motor current on the electric motor (4) to detect a relative change in position of the motor by adding up the position changes, and comparing to stored position data to determine if a maladjustment has occurred);
determining, in response to the determination that the positional change of the sunroof occurred, an adjustment value (e.g. Paragraphs [0012]; where the loading of the position information is stipulated with a correction value in order to correct the position information with respect to an actual position of the closing element), wherein
the adjustment value comprises a ‘…’ counter adjustment value (e.g. Paragraphs [0033], [0048]-[0049]; where the electric motor (4) can be provided with a position transmitter (9), which can detect a relative change in position of a movement of the window pane (2), and can emit pulses incrementing or decrementing a position counter implemented in the control unit (7)); and
adjusting a position of the sunroof by controlling, based on the adjustment value, rotation of the motor (e.g. Paragraphs [0015], [0017], [0037]; where the position information can be corrected when the closing element has been calibrated; and the control unit (7) activates the electric motor (4) to commence movement of the window).
Huck fails to disclose every feature of wherein the plurality of sensors comprise a first Hall sensor and a second Hall sensor; the first sensor values comprise a stored first Hall sensor value received from the first Hall sensor and a stored second Hall sensor value received from the second Hall sensor; the second sensor values comprise a current first Hall sensor value received from the first Hall sensor and a current second Hall sensor value received from the second Hall sensor.
However, Morawek, in a similar field of endeavor, teaches a method for determining the position of a motor-driven actuating part, where sensor data includes measurement results obtained by means of specialty sensors, such as Hall sensors; and where the measurement data is transmitted from the motor (12) can include drive current and/or drive voltage, to derive or determine changes in position from the incoming measurement data, and together with the currently valid position from a position memory (17), a new position value is derived therefrom, to determine the absolute value of the change in position (e.g. Paragraphs [0035], [0038]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art on or before the effective filing date of the Applicant’s invention, with a reasonable expectation for success, to further modify the method for operating a vehicle closing device of Huck, in view of Park, with the feature of using a Hall sensor in the system of Morawek, in order to determine the updated position of the actuating part between absolute position determinations (see at least Paragraph [0020] of Morawek).
Morawek more explicitly teaches the features of determine, based on the comparison indicating that at least one of: the stored first Hall sensor value differs from the current first Hall sensor value, or the stored second Hall sensor value differs from the current second Hall sensor value, that a positional change of the sunroof ‘…’; and the adjustment value comprises a Hall counter adjustment value.
Morawek further teaches a method for determining the position of a motor-driven actuating part, where sensor data includes measurement results obtained by means of specialty sensors, such as Hall sensors; and where the measurement data is transmitted from the motor (12) can include drive current and/or drive voltage, to derive or determine changes in position from the incoming measurement data, and together with the currently valid position from a position memory (17), a new position value is derived therefrom, to determine the absolute value of the change in position, and where the system can ripple count the signals of the Hall sensor (e.g. Paragraphs [0035], [0020], [0038]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art on or before the effective filing date of the Applicant’s invention, with a reasonable expectation for success, to further modify the method for operating a vehicle closing device of Huck, in view of Park, with the feature of using a Hall sensor counter in the system of Morawek, in order to determine the updated position of the actuating part between absolute position determinations (see at least Paragraph [0020] of Morawek).
Claims 2, 5-6, and 8-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huck, in view of Morawek, as applied to Claim 1, 4, and 7, above, and further in view of Korean Patent Publication No. 20130044760 A, to Park, et al (hereinafter referred to as Park; previously of record).
As per Claim 2, Huck discloses the features of Claim 1, but Huck fails to disclose every feature of wherein the first Hall sensor and the second Hall sensor are placed adjacent to each other on one side of the motor, wherein the first Hall sensor is configured to detect the rotation of the motor and output a first square wave signal, and wherein the second Hall sensor is configured to detect the rotation of the motor and output a second square wave signal with a phase difference of 90 degrees with respect to the first square wave signal.
However, Park, in a similar field of endeavor, teaches a method for controlling a sunroof, where the motor is provided with two Hall sensors, and a first square wave (302) may be generated through a first Hall sensor, and a second square wave having a phase difference of 90 degrees with the first square wave is generated; and the rotation direction, angle, and speed of the shaft can be checked through each Hall sensor (e.g. Paragraphs [0015], [0019], [0025]-[0026]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art on or before the effective filing date of the Applicant’s invention, with a reasonable expectation for success, to modify the method for operating a vehicle closing device of Huck, with the feature of using Hall sensors in the system of Park, in order to determine precise position information and control of the sunroof (see at least Paragraph [0005] of Park).
As per Claim 5, Huck, in view of Morawek, teaches the features of Claim 4, and Huck further discloses the features of wherein the processor is further configured to:
identify a current rotational direction of the motor at a third time when the first sensor values are retrieved from the memory (e.g. Paragraphs [0031], [0040]; where the electric motor (4) is activated by a control unit (7) as a function of an operating element, where the window moves in a stipulated directions, where when the operating element is actuated to close the window as a result of the rotation direction of the motor (4) and can be opened as a result of opposite rotation of the electric motor (4)), wherein
the third time is after the second time at which the vehicle control apparatus switches from the sleep mode to the wakeup mode (e.g. Paragraphs [0022], [0047]; where after the wake-up of the control unit (7) from the sleep mode has been assumed, the position information is loaded with a corrected value, upon detecting the current position of the closing element) ‘…’.
The combination of Huck, in view of Morawek, fails to teach every feature of identify, based on the current rotational direction of the motor at the third time being a forward rotational direction, a sensor value, of the first sensor values, that was received when the motor was rotating in the forward rotational direction.
However, Park, in a similar field of endeavor, teaches a method for controlling a sunroof, where when the motor (303) rotates in a forward direction, the position value is increased by 1 (e.g. Paragraphs [0029], [0033]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art on or before the effective filing date of the Applicant’s invention, with a reasonable expectation for success, to further modify the method for operating a vehicle closing device of Huck, in view of Morawek, with the feature of determining the rotational direction of the motor in the system of Park, in order to calculate the position value (see at least Paragraph [0029] of Park).
As per Claim 6, Huck, in view of Morawek, teaches the features of Claim 4, and Huck further discloses the features of wherein the processor is further configured to:
identify a current rotational direction of the motor at a third time when the first sensor values are retrieved from the memory (e.g. Paragraphs [0031], [0040]; where the electric motor (4) is activated by a control unit (7) as a function of an operating element, where the window moves in a stipulated directions, where when the operating element is actuated to close the window as a result of the rotation direction of the motor (4) and can be opened as a result of opposite rotation of the electric motor (4)), wherein
the third time is after the second time at which the vehicle control apparatus switches from the sleep mode to the wakeup mode (e.g. Paragraphs [0022], [0047]; where after the wake-up of the control unit (7) from the sleep mode has been assumed, the position information is loaded with a corrected value, upon detecting the current position of the closing element) ‘…’.
The combination of Huck, in view of Morawek, fails to teach every feature of identify, based on the current rotational direction of the motor at the third time being a reverse rotational direction, a sensor value, of the first sensor values, that was received when the motor was rotating in the reverse rotational direction.
However, Park, in a similar field of endeavor, teaches a method for controlling a sunroof, where when the motor (303) rotates in a reverse direction, the position value is decreased by 1 and the position value is decreased (e.g. Paragraphs [0029], [0041]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art on or before the effective filing date of the Applicant’s invention, with a reasonable expectation for success, to further modify the method for operating a vehicle closing device of Huck, in view of Morawek, with the feature of determining the rotational direction of the motor in the system of Park, in order to calculate the position value (see at least Paragraph [0029] of Park).
As per Claim 8, Huck, in view of Morawek, teaches the features of Claim 7, but the combination of Huck, in view of Morawek, fails to teach every feature of wherein the processor is configured to determine the Hall counter adjustment value by performing one of: based on the edge associated with the different sensor values being a falling edge, determining a first adjustment value as the Hall counter adjustment value for adjusting a Hall counter value by 1; or based on the edge associated with the different sensor values being a rising edge, determining a second adjustment value as the Hall counter adjustment value for adjusting the Hall counter value by 1.
However, Park, in a similar field of endeavor, teaches a method for controlling a sunroof, where when the rising edge or the falling edge occurs in the Hall sensor, the controller changes the position value in response to the output of the Hall sensor, by up-counting, and when the motor (303) rotates in a forward direction, the position value is increased by 1, and when the motor (303) rotates in a reverse direction, the position value is decreased by 1 and the position value is decreased (e.g. Paragraphs [0027], [0029], [0070]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art on or before the effective filing date of the Applicant’s invention, with a reasonable expectation for success, to further modify the method for operating a vehicle closing device of Huck, in view of Morawek, with the feature of determining the rising or falling edge in the system of Park, in order to determine the output signal and determine an increase or decrease in the position value (see at least Paragraph [0026] of Park).
As per Claim 9, Huck, in view of Morawek and Park, teaches the features of Claim 8, Morawek further teaches the features of wherein the processor is configured to determine the Hall counter adjustment value by: determining an absolute value of the Hall counter adjustment value to be same regardless of whether a rotational direction of the motor is a forward direction or a reverse direction.
Morawek teaches a method for determining the position of a motor-driven actuating part, where the absolute position is determined when starting from a fixed, known position, for example in the case of starting from a known initial position or position of rest, for the current position value and the uncertainty value thereof to be initialized with zero before the first change in position, which corresponds to a known position, by evaluating the signals of a Hall sensor, and resetting the absolute position data when the position and uncertainty values are zero (i.e., has changed to a new stop position in either direction) (e.g. Paragraphs [0019]-[0020], [0026], [0037]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art on or before the effective filing date of the Applicant’s invention, with a reasonable expectation for success, to modify the method for operating a vehicle closing device of Huck, with the feature of using absolute value for counter adjustments in the system of Morawek, in order to provide an known and current position for reference when utilizing the system (see at least Paragraph [0019] of Morawek).
As per Claim 10, Huck, in view of Morawek, teaches the features of Claim 7, but the combination of Huck, in view of Morawek, fails to teach every feature of wherein the processor is configured to determine the adjustment value by: based on the comparison indicating that the first sensor values are different from the second sensor values for each of the plurality of sensors, determining the Hall counter adjustment value further based on a previous movement direction of the sunroof.
However, Park, in a similar field of endeavor, teaches a method for controlling a sunroof, where the Hall sensor detects the output each time the opening/closing of the motor makes a rotation, and moves the sunroof based on the position value increasing or decreasing (i.e., based on movement information of the sunroof) (e.g. Paragraphs [0024], [0026], [0058]-[0059]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art on or before the effective filing date of the Applicant’s invention, with a reasonable expectation for success, to further modify the method for operating a vehicle closing device of Huck, in view of Morawek, with the feature of determining the difference in sensor values based on movement commands of the sunroof in the system of Park, in order to determine the output signal and determine an increase or decrease in the position value (see at least Paragraph [0026] of Park).
As per Claim 11, Huck, in view of Morawek and Park, teaches the features of Claim 10, and Park further teaches the features of wherein the processor is configured to determine the adjustment value by, based on the comparison indicating that the first sensor values are different from the second sensor values for each of the plurality of sensors, performing one of: determining the Hall counter adjustment value for decreasing a Hall counter value by 2 based on the previous movement direction of the sunroof being an opening direction; or determining the Hall counter adjustment value for increasing the Hall counter value by 2 based on the previous movement direction of the sunroof being a closing direction.
Park teaches a method for controlling a sunroof, where when two Hall sensors are provided, when a Hall sensor failure is determined with respect to one Hall sensor, the position value is increased or decreased by two corresponding to the other Hall sensor output signal (e.g. Paragraphs [0040], [0057]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the Applicant’s invention, with a reasonable expectation for success, to further modify the method for operating a vehicle closing device of Huck, in view of Morawek, with the feature of incrementing or decrementing the counter in the system of Park, in order to accurately grasp the position of the sunroof (see at least Paragraph [0040] of Park).
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Publication No. 2013/0093365 A1, to Huck, et al (hereinafter referred to as Huck; previously of record), and further in view of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2015/0219473 A1, to Morawek (hereinafter referred to as Morawek; previously of record), in view of Korean Patent Publication No. 20130044760 A, to Park, et al (hereinafter referred to as Park; previously of record).
As per Claim 14, Huck discloses the features of a vehicle system of a vehicle (e.g. where a control unit detects the position of the opening/closing device), the vehicle system comprising:
a user interface configured to receive a user command for operating a sunroof of the vehicle (e.g. Paragraph [0051]; where the user may move the window pane in the direction of the closing position through actuation of the operating element (8)); and
a vehicle control apparatus (e.g. where a control unit detects the position of the opening/closing device) comprising:
a motor (e.g. Paragraphs [0002]-[0003], [0021]-[0022], [0031]; where a drive motor is controlled by a control unit, to detect the current position of the closing or opening element; and where the system relates to automatic closing devices, such as window lifters and roof closing installations); and
a plurality of sensors ‘…’ configured to control movement of the sunroof according to the user command (e.g. Paragraphs [0034], [0051]; where one or more sensors may be attached to the electric motor to detect the profile of the motor current and/or motor rotational speed; and where the user may move the window pane in the direction of the closing position through actuation of the operating element (8))), wherein the vehicle control apparatus is configured to:
receive, from the plurality of sensors while the vehicle control apparatus is in a wakeup mode and before a first time at which the vehicle control apparatus switches from the wakeup mode to a sleep mode, first sensor values (e.g. Paragraph [0010]; where the control unit is shifted to a normal operating mode, and the position information is detected); ‘…’
based on the vehicle control apparatus switching from the sleep mode to the wakeup mode at a second time after the first time (e.g. Paragraphs [0011]-[0012]; where the system detects if a wake-up condition is present in which the control unit changes over from the sleep mode to the normal operating mode), compare the first sensor values with second sensor values (e.g. Paragraphs [0008], [0050]; where the position information stored in the control unit for the last-detected position of the closing element and the current position of the closing element is compared), wherein
the second sensor values are received from the plurality of sensors after the second time and while the vehicle control apparatus is in the wakeup mode (e.g. Paragraphs [0008], [0010], [0022], [0035]; where the current position of the closing element is detected when the control unit shifts to the normal operating mode); ‘…’
determine, based on the comparison indicating that at least one of: the stored first ‘…’ sensor value differs from the current first ‘…’ sensor value, or the stored second ‘…’ sensor value differs from the current second ‘…’ sensor value, that a positional change of the sunroof occurred while the vehicle control apparatus was in the sleep mode (e.g. Paragraphs [0013], [0033], [0050]; where the position transmitter (9) can detect a relative change in position of a movement of the window pane (2), the system evaluates a current profile of motor current on the electric motor (4) to detect a relative change in position of the motor by adding up the position changes, and comparing to stored position data to determine if a maladjustment has occurred);
determine, in response to the determination that the positional change of the sunroof occurred, an adjustment value (e.g. Paragraphs [0012]; where the loading of the position information is stipulated with a correction value in order to correct the position information with respect to an actual position of the closing element), wherein
the adjustment value comprises a ‘…’ counter adjustment value (e.g. Paragraphs [0033], [0048]-[0049]; where the electric motor (4) can be provided with a position transmitter (9), which can detect a relative change in position of a movement of the window pane (2), and can emit pulses incrementing or decrementing a position counter implemented in the control unit (7)); and
adjust a position of the sunroof by controlling, based on the adjustment value, rotation of the motor (e.g. Paragraphs [0015], [0017], [0037]; where the position information can be corrected when the closing element has been calibrated; and the control unit (7) activates the electric motor (4) to commence movement of the window).
Huck fails to disclose every feature of a plurality of sensors comprising a first Hall sensor and a second Hall sensor; wherein the first sensor values comprise a stored first Hall sensor value received from the first Hall sensor and a stored second Hall sensor value received from the second Hall sensor; the second sensor values comprise a current first Hall sensor value received from the first Hall sensor and a current second Hall sensor value received from the second Hall sensor.
However, Morawek, in a similar field of endeavor, teaches a method for determining the position of a motor-driven actuating part, where sensor data includes measurement results obtained by means of specialty sensors, such as Hall sensors; and where the measurement data is transmitted from the motor (12) can include drive current and/or drive voltage, to derive or determine changes in position from the incoming measurement data, and together with the currently valid position from a position memory (17), a new position value is derived therefrom, to determine the absolute value of the change in position (e.g. Paragraphs [0035], [0038]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art on or before the effective filing date of the Applicant’s invention, with a reasonable expectation for success, to further modify the method for operating a vehicle closing device of Huck, in view of Park, with the feature of using a Hall sensor in the system of Morawek, in order to determine the updated position of the actuating part between absolute position determinations (see at least Paragraph [0020] of Morawek).
Morawek more explicitly teaches the features of determine, based on the comparison indicating that at least one of: the stored first Hall sensor value differs from the current first Hall sensor value, or the stored second Hall sensor value differs from the current second Hall sensor value, that a positional change of the sunroof ‘…’; and the adjustment value comprises a Hall counter adjustment value.
Morawek further teaches a method for determining the position of a motor-driven actuating part, where sensor data includes measurement results obtained by means of specialty sensors, such as Hall sensors; and where the measurement data is transmitted from the motor (12) can include drive current and/or drive voltage, to derive or determine changes in position from the incoming measurement data, and together with the currently valid position from a position memory (17), a new position value is derived therefrom, to determine the absolute value of the change in position, and where the system can ripple count the signals of the Hall sensor (e.g. Paragraphs [0035], [0020], [0038]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art on or before the effective filing date of the Applicant’s invention, with a reasonable expectation for success, to further modify the method for operating a vehicle closing device of Huck, in view of Park, with the feature of using a Hall sensor counter in the system of Morawek, in order to determine the updated position of the actuating part between absolute position determinations (see at least Paragraph [0020] of Morawek).
Park, in a similar field of endeavor, more explicitly teaches the features of a user interface configured to receive a user command for operating a sunroof of the vehicle.
Park teaches a method for controlling a sunroof, where the sunroof control signal may refer to a control signal input due to a switch operation of a user, and the information about the sunroof operation may be transmitted to the user (e.g. Paragraphs [0014], [0048], [0064]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the Applicant’s invention, with a reasonable expectation for success, to modify the method for operating a vehicle closing device of Huck, with the using an interface for receiving user commands in the system of Park, in order to control the sunroof according to the user input (see at least Paragraph [0014] of Park).
Claims 16-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huck, in view Morawek, as applied to Claim 15 above, and further in view of Korean Patent Publication No. 20130044760 A, to Park, et al (hereinafter referred to as Park; previously of record).
As per Claim 16, Huck, in view of Morawek and Park, teaches the features of Claim 15, and Park further teaches the features of wherein the determining of the adjustment value comprises: based on the comparison indicating that one of the first sensor values is different from a corresponding value of the second sensor values, determining a Hall counter adjustment value for increasing or decreasing the Hall counter value by 1 further based on an edge associated with the different sensor values of the first sensor values and the second sensor values.
Park teaches a method for controlling a sunroof, where when the rising edge or the falling edge occurs in the Hall sensor, the controller changes the position value in response to the output of the Hall sensor, by up-counting, and when the motor (303) rotates in a forward direction, the position value is increased by 1, and when the motor (303) rotates in a reverse direction, the position value is decreased by 1 and the position value is decreased (e.g. Paragraphs [0027], [0029], [0070]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art on or before the effective filing date of the Applicant’s invention, with a reasonable expectation for success, to further modify the method for operating a vehicle closing device of Huck, in view of Morawek, with the feature of determining the edges associated with the sensor values in the system of Park, in order to determine the output signal and determine an increase or decrease in the position value (see at least Paragraph [0026] of Park).
As per Claim 17, Huck, in view of Morawek and Park, teaches the features of Claim 15, and Park further teaches the features of wherein the processor is configured to determine the adjustment value by: based on the comparison indicating that the first sensor values are different from the second sensor values for each of the plurality of sensors, determining the Hall counter adjustment value further based on a previous movement direction of the sunroof.
Park teaches a method for controlling a sunroof, where the Hall sensor detects the output each time the opening/closing of the motor makes a rotation, and moves the sunroof based on the position value increasing or decreasing (i.e., based on movement information of the sunroof) (e.g. Paragraphs [0024], [0026], [0058]-[0059]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art on or before the effective filing date of the Applicant’s invention, with a reasonable expectation for success, to further modify the method for operating a vehicle closing device of Huck, in view of Morawek, with the feature of determining the difference in sensor values based on movement commands of the sunroof in the system of Park, in order to determine the output signal and determine an increase or decrease in the position value (see at least Paragraph [0026] of Park).
As per Claim 18, Huck, in view of Morawek and Park, teaches the features of Claim 17, and Park further teaches the features of wherein the determining of the adjustment value further comprises, based on the comparison indicating that the first sensor values are different from the second sensor values for each of the plurality of sensors, performing one of: determining the Hall counter adjustment value for decreasing a Hall counter value by 2 based on the previous movement direction of the sunroof being an opening direction; or determining the Hall counter adjustment value for increasing the Hall counter value by 2 based on the previous movement direction of the sunroof being a closing direction.
Park teaches a method for controlling a sunroof, where when two Hall sensors are provided, when a Hall sensor failure is determined with respect to one Hall sensor, the position value is increased or decreased by two corresponding to the other Hall sensor output signal (e.g. Paragraphs [0040], [0057]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the Applicant’s invention, with a reasonable expectation for success, to further modify the method for operating a vehicle closing device of Huck, in view of Morawek, with the feature of incrementing or decrementing the counter in the system of Park, in order to accurately grasp the position of the sunroof (see at least Paragraph [0040] of Park).
Claims 12-13 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huck, in view of Morawek, as applied to Claim 1 above, and further in view of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2006/0208678 A1, to Choby (hereinafter referred to as Choby; previously of record).
As per Claim 12, and similarly for Claim 19, Huck, in view of Morawek, teaches the features of Claims 1 and 15, respectively, but the combination of Huck, in view of Morawek, fails to teach every feature of wherein the processor is configured to determine the adjustment value by: based on the comparison indicating that the first sensor values are different from the second sensor values for each of the plurality of sensors, determining the Hall counter adjustment value further based on a spring tension direction of the sunroof.
However, Choby, in a similar field of endeavor, teaches a method for implementing anti-pinch mechanisms in a closure device, where if the calculated difference is greater than the trigger value, then the system may reverse the motor and move the window a predetermined distance away from a pinch event, and if the difference is less than the trigger value, then counts are subtracted from the stored value; and the correction value is used to modify the stored value; and where the spring constant of the force gage used to measure the force at the point of reversal is determined (e.g. Paragraphs [0024], [0026]-[0027], [0029]; Figure 3).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art on or before the effective filing date of the Applicant’s invention, with a reasonable expectation for success, to further modify the method for operating a vehicle closing device of Huck, in view of Morawek, with the feature of determining the direction of tension in the system of Choby, in order to optimize the performance of the doors (see at least Paragraph [0026] of Choby).
As per Claim 13, and similarly for Claim 20, Huck, in view of Morawek and Choby, teaches the features of Claims 12 and 19, respectively, and Choby further teaches the features of wherein the processor is configured to determine the adjustment value by: based on the comparison indicating that the first sensor values are different from the second sensor values for each of the plurality of sensors, determining the Hall counter adjustment value for decreasing a Hall counter value by 2 in the spring tension direction of the sunroof.
Choby teaches a method for implementing anti-pinch mechanisms in a closure device, where the stored value is placed in a memory location, and another measured value is calculated each time data is received indicating motor revolution, which is compared to the stored value, and if the measured value is less than the stored value, then the stored value is replaced by the current value of the measured value, and if the measured value is greater than the stored value, the difference between the measured and stored values is calculated and compared to the trigger value from the look-up table corresponding to the stored value; if the calculated difference is greater than the trigger value, then the system may reverse the motor and move the window a predetermined distance away from a pinch event, such that a correction factor of two can be applied (i.e., adds or subtracts two from the counter), and if the difference is less than the trigger value, then counts are subtracted from the stored value; and the correction value is used to modify the stored value; and where the spring constant of the force gage used to measure the force at the point of reversal is determined (e.g. Paragraphs [0024], [0026]-[0027], [0029]; Figure 3).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art on or before the effective filing date of the Applicant’s invention, with a reasonable expectation for success, to further modify the method for operating a vehicle closing device of Huck, in view of Morawek, with the feature of correcting the Hall adjustment based on tension in the sunroof in the system of Choby, in order to optimize the performance of the doors (see at least Paragraph [0026] of Choby).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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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/MERRITT LEVY/Examiner, Art Unit 3663
/KYLE J KINGSLAND/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3663
