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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 05/21/2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 8-9, 16 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Regarding claim 1, the claim recites “searching a correspondence according to the engine oil temperature and the cooling liquid temperature, to obtain a work loss torque of an engine, wherein the correspondence comprises engine oil temperatures, cooling liquid temperatures, and loss torques; ….”. Based on the claim language, the claim should read, “searching a correspondence according to the engine oil temperature and the cooling liquid temperature, to obtain a work loss torque of an engine, wherein the correspondence comprises engine oil temperatures, cooling liquid temperatures, and work loss torques; ….”.
Regarding claim 8-9, they are objected for the same reasons as provided in the objection of claim 1 mutandis mutatis.
Regarding claim 16, the claim recites “A hybrid electric vehicle, comprising: an engine, an ISG motor, and the controller according to claim 9”. However, claim 9 already discloses these components. Based on the claim language, the claim should read, “The hybrid electric vehicle, comprising: the engine, the ISG motor, and the controller according to claim 9”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claim(s) 1, 8-9, 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Doering (US 20130297187 A1) in view of Togai (US 5123389 A).
Regarding claim 1, Doering teaches a method for controlling engine start of a hybrid electric vehicle, comprising:
determining whether an engine start condition is satisfied (0173, 0217 wherein “The engine may be automatically started without direct operator input to a device that has a sole purpose of starting and/or stopping the engine (e.g., an ignition switch) when driver demand torque exceeds a threshold level of torque”; “[0217] At time T.sub.16, the engine start/run request is asserted in response to the driver demand torque exceeding a threshold torque (not shown). The engine is restarted so that the engine may output torque to the driveline to augment DISG torque”);
obtaining an engine oil temperature (“[0550] Present engine operating conditions (e.g., oil temperature, valve timing, etc.) are determined”) and an engine cooling liquid temperature (032 wherein “Controller 12 is shown receiving various signals from sensors coupled to engine 10, in addition to those signals previously discussed, including: engine coolant temperature (ECT) from temperature sensor 112 coupled to cooling sleeve 114”);
controlling an integrated starter generator (ISG) motor of the hybrid electric vehicle to start the engine (0055 wherein “Next, with the torque converter fully unlocked, the method includes receiving a request to launch the vehicle, such as based on an operator pedal input increasing past a threshold amount. In response, the engine is cranked and started with one or more of the DISG 240 and a starter motor”).
However, Doering fails to teach in response to that the engine start condition is satisfied, obtaining an engine oil temperature and an engine cooling liquid temperature, searching a correspondence according to the engine oil temperature and the cooling liquid temperature, to obtain a work loss torque of an engine, wherein the correspondence comprises engine oil temperatures, cooling liquid temperatures, and loss torques and controlling the ISG motor according to the work loss torque to start the engine.
Doering further teaches searching correspondence according to the engine temperature to obtain a torque to start the engine (0196 wherein “The torque to start the engine may be empirically determined and stored in a table or function in memory. The table or function may be indexed via engine temperature and time since last engine stop”).
Togai teaches using correspondence comprising engine oil temperature, cooling liquid temperature, and loss torque when supplying torque to the vehicle (Fig. 10b, col 10 lines 20-23 wherein “Further at step D14, a torque loss T.sub.ML is calculated from a relationship f.sub.2 to an engine water temperature and an engine oil temperature”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified Doering’s teachings of starting the engine using ISG by supplying necessary torque and searching correspondence according to the engine temperature to obtain a torque to start the engine to incorporate Togai’s teachings of use correspondence comprising engine oil temperature, cooling liquid temperature, and loss torque when supplying torque to the vehicle in order to have in response to that the engine start condition is satisfied, obtaining an engine oil temperature and an engine cooling liquid temperature, searching a correspondence according to the engine oil temperature and the cooling liquid temperature, to obtain a work loss torque of an engine, wherein the correspondence comprises engine oil temperatures, cooling liquid temperatures, and loss torques and controlling the ISG motor according to the work loss torque to start the engine. Doing so would allow determining appropriate amount of loss torque when starting the engine to efficiently power the engine.
Regarding claim 8, it is rejected for the same reasons as provided in the rejection of claim 1
mutandis mutatis. Furthermore, Doering also teaches a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, storing a computer program, when the computer program is executed by a processor to cause the processor to perform operations (at least in 0224 wherein “a controller including non-transitory instructions executable to start the engine via the starter during a first start and via the DISG during a second start”).
Regarding claim 9, it is rejected for the same reasons as provided in the rejection of claim 1
mutandis mutatis. Furthermore, Doering also teaches a controller, comprising a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory, and when the computer program is executed by the processor, the controller is configured to perform operations (at least in 0224 wherein “a controller including non-transitory instructions executable to start the engine via the starter during a first start and via the DISG during a second start”).
Regarding claim 16, Doering teaches the hybrid electric vehicle, comprising: an engine, an ISG motor, and the controller (Fig 1, para 0026).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-7, 10-15 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
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Park (US 20120143416 A1) teaches evaluating changes in friction torque according to oil temperature and coolant temperature when controlling a hybrid electric vehicle.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SAGAR KC whose telephone number is (571)272-7337. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30 am - 5 pm.
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/SAGAR KC/Examiner, Art Unit 3657
/ADAM R MOTT/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3657
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