DETAILED ACTION
This is the first Office action on the merits of Application No. 19/223,919. Claims 1-20 are pending.
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
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 5/30/2025 has been considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because Fig. 4b does not appear to be described in the specification beyond the brief description of figures, nor are any of the reference numerals associated with Fig. 4b 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 Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
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.
Claims 8 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claims 8 and 18, line 1, the phrase "the predefined torque limit 0…" renders the claim indefinite because it appears to contradict the previous claim (claim 6 or 16) which “exceeds”. It is unclear how the predefined torque limit exceeds when it is 0 percent above the current engine torque.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
Claims 1-2, 9-12, and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hata (US Patent Publication 20160257300, cited on the IDS).
Regarding claim 1, Hata discloses a clutch control system (Fig. 7) for mitigating driveline stress in a vehicle, the clutch control system comprising: a friction clutch (K0) capable of transitioning between a fully open, a partially open, and a fully closed position (paragraph [0045]); a control unit (19) configured to receive vehicle data, wherein the vehicle data comprises current engine torque and/or a parameter indicative of current engine torque (e.g. claims 2 and 9), and define one or more operational modes of the friction clutch, wherein the one or more operational modes comprise a driveline protection mode defined by having an operating range between the fully open position and an effectively closed position of the clutch (e.g. claim 5), wherein the effectively closed position is a partially open position having a torque capacity that exceeds the current engine torque, thereby preventing clutch slip at the effectively closed position (paragraph [0039]); and a clutch actuator configured to operate the clutch in accordance with the one or more operational modes, including the driveline protection mode (paragraph [0039]).
Regarding claim 2, Hata discloses the clutch control system of claim 1, wherein the one or more operational modes comprise a default mode defined by having an operating range between the fully open position and the fully closed position of the clutch (paragraph [0039]).
Regarding claim 9, Hata discloses a vehicle, comprising vehicle sensors configured to provide vehicle data, wherein the vehicle sensors comprise a crankshaft sensor configured to provide current engine torque (S1), and a clutch control system according to claim 1.
Regarding claim 10, Hata discloses the vehicle of claim 9, wherein the vehicle sensors further comprise a wheel slip sensor (paragraph [0048]) configured to provide wheel slip data and/or a parking sensor (paragraph [0013]) configured to provide nearby obstacle data, and the clutch control system (Fig. 7).
Regarding claim 11, Hata discloses a method for mitigating driveline stress in a vehicle, the vehicle comprising a friction clutch (K0) capable of transitioning between a fully open, a partially open, and a fully closed position (paragraph [0045]), the method comprising: receiving vehicle data, wherein the vehicle data comprises current engine torque and/or a parameter indicative of current engine torque (e.g. claims 2 and 9); defining one or more operational modes of the friction clutch, wherein the one or more operational modes comprise a driveline protection mode defined by having an operating range between a fully open position and an effectively closed position of the clutch (e.g. claim 5), wherein the effectively closed position is a partially open position having a torque capacity that exceeds current engine torque, thereby preventing clutch slip at the effectively closed position (paragraph [0039]); and operating the friction clutch in accordance with the one or more operational modes, including the driveline protection mode (paragraph [0039]).
Regarding claim 12, Hata discloses the method of claim 11, wherein defining one or more operational modes comprises defining a default mode having an operating range between the fully open position and the fully closed position of the clutch (paragraph [0039]).
Regarding claim 19, Hata discloses a computer program comprising program code for performing the steps of claim 11 when said program is run on a computer or on processing circuitry of a control unit (e.g. paragraph [0031]).
Regarding claim 20, Hata discloses a non-transitory computer readable medium carrying a computer program comprising program code for performing the steps of claim 11 when said computer program is run on a computer or on processing circuitry of a control unit (e.g. paragraph [0031]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-7 and 13-17 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.
Claims 8 and 18 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Reasons for allowance, if applicable, will be the subject of a separate communication to the Applicant or patent owner, pursuant to 37 CFR § 1.104 and MPEP § 1302.14.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Milehins (US Patent 10036435, cited on the IDS) discloses a clutch with fully closed, fully open, and partially open control.
Harris (US Patent Publication 20220379722) discloses vehicle with engine power limiting based on clutch capacity.
Harms (US Patent Publication 20220025778) discloses clutch control process.
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/LORI WU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3655
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