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 .
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 1-9, and 11-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Anderson (U.S. 11,021,033).
Regarding claims 1-9, Anderson discloses an active suspension control system for a vehicle, comprising: an unsprung mass (vehicle wheel) coupled to a sprung mass (vehicle chassis) by a spring (1-124); an actuator (1-116) disposed between the unsprung mass (vehicle wheels) and the sprung mass (vehicle chassis) and configured to apply a force (damping force) therebetween; a controller (1-200) in functional communication with the actuator (1-116) and configured to cause the actuator (1-116) to vary the force (damping force) based on a force command signal (commanded force), wherein the controller (1-200) is configured to determine the force command signal based on at least one of: a linear quadratic control technique (see column 263, lines 15-30); or an impedance control technique (see column 251, lines 45-50) using a low-pass filtered actual-value signal (see fig. 286, lines 45-50), wherein the controller (1-200) is configured to determine the force command signal based on the linear quadratic control technique (see column 263, lines 15-30, wherein the controller (1-200) is configured to determine the force command signal based on the impedance control technique using the low-pass filtered actual-value signal (see fig. 286, lines 45-50), wherein actual-value signal represents a linear distance between the unsprung mass and the sprung mass (displacement sensor provide information between the vehicle chassis and wheel such as distance), wherein the spring (1-124) and the actuator (1-116) are the only physical connections between the sprung mass (vehicle chassis) and the unsprung mass (vehicle wheels), wherein the unsprung mass includes a wheel of the vehicle, wherein the vehicle includes a plurality of wheels, wherein the actuator (1-116) is one of a plurality of actuators (1-116), with each actuator (1-116) of the plurality of actuators being coupled to a corresponding wheel of the plurality of wheels, and wherein the controller (1-200) is in functional communication with each actuator (1-116) of the plurality of actuators (1-126) to cause each actuator to vary a corresponding application of force, wherein the actuator (1-116) includes at least one actuatable component for controlling the force applied, wherein the at least one actuatable component includes each of: the motor, the clutch (see column 143, lines 43-45), and the brake (see entire document).
Regarding claims 11-19, Anderson discloses a method for controlling an active suspension control system for a vehicle, comprising: applying a force (damping force), by an actuator (1-116), between an unsprung mass (vehicle wheels) and a sprung mass (vehicle chassis), wherein the unsprung mass is coupled to the sprung mass by a spring (1-124); determining, by a controller (1-200), a force command (commanded force) signal based on at least one of: a linear quadratic control technique, or an impedance control technique (see column 263, lines 15-30) using a low-pass filtered actual- value signal (see fig. 286, lines 45-50); and communicating, the force command signal to the actuator (1-126) to cause the actuator to vary the force, wherein the controller (1-200) is configured to determine the force command signal based on the linear quadratic control technique (see column 263, lines 15-30), wherein the controller is configured to determine the force command signal based on the impedance control technique using the low-pass filtered actual-value signal (see fig. 286, lines 45-50); wherein actual-value signal represents a linear distance between the unsprung mass and the sprung mass (displacement sensor provide information between the vehicle chassis and wheel such as distance), wherein the spring (1-124) and the actuator (1-116) are the only physical connections between the sprung mass and the unsprung mass, wherein the unsprung mass includes a wheel of the vehicle, wherein the vehicle includes a plurality of wheels, wherein the actuator is one of a plurality of actuators (1116), with each actuator (1-116) of the plurality of actuators being coupled to a corresponding wheel of the plurality of wheels, and wherein the controller (1-200) is in functional communication with each actuator of the plurality of actuators (1-116) to cause each actuator to vary a corresponding application of force, wherein the at least one actuatable component includes each of: the motor, the clutch (see column 143, lines 43-45), and the brake (see entire document).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 10 and 20 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.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: Anderson discloses every element of the invention as discussed above except that at least one of the clutch and the brake is operable based on changing a viscosity of a magnetorheological (MR) fluid.
Conclusion
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/TOAN C TO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3614 February 6, 2026