Ex Parte Higuma et al

Patent Trial and Appeal Board

Feb 14, 2017

12382719 (P.T.A.B. Feb. 14, 2017)

United States Patent and Trademark Office
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS
P.O.Box 1450
Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450
www.uspto.gov
APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE FIRST NAMED INVENTOR ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO.
12/382,719 03/23/2009 Motohiro Higuma 2009_0484A 2088
513 7590 02/16/2017
WENDEROTH, LIND & PONACK, L.L.P.
1030 15th Street, N.W.,
Suite 400 East
Washington, DC 20005-1503
EXAMINER
NGUYEN, XU AN LAN T
ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER
3657
NOTIFICATION DATE DELIVERY MODE
02/16/2017 ELECTRONIC
Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding.
The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication.
Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above-indicated "Notification Date" to the
following e-mail address(es):
ddalecki@wenderoth.com
eoa@ wenderoth. com
PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07)
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
Ex parte MOTOHIRO HIGUMA,
KAZUYA YAMANO,
TAKANOBU SAITO, and
SATORU KURAGAKI
Appeal 2015-002382
Application 12/382,719
Technology Center 3600
Before MICHAEL L. HOELTER, JILL D. HILL, and
ERIC C. JESCHKE, Administrative Patent Judges.
HOELTER, Administrative Patent Judge.
DECISION ON APPEAL
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
This is a decision on appeal, under 35 U.S.C. § 134(a), from a final
rejection of claims 1—6, 8—13, 15—20, 23, and 24. Br. 1. Claims 7, 14, 21,
and 22 have been canceled. Br. 1. We have jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C.
§ 6(b).
We AFFIRM.
Appeal 2015-002382
Application 12/382,719
THE CLAIMED SUBJECT MATTER
The disclosed subject matter “relates to a brake booster capable of
providing an assist power to an operation of a brake pedal.” Spec. 11.
Claims 1,11, and 18 are independent claims. Claim 1 is illustrative of the
claims on appeal and is reproduced below.
1. A brake control apparatus, comprising:
an assist member disposed so as to be movable relative to an
input member movable forward and backward according to an
operation of a brake pedal;
an actuator operable to displace the assist member forward and
backward;
a booster operable to pressurize an inside of a master cylinder
by displacing the assist member by the actuator;
a control unit operable to control the actuator to displace the
assist member;
a fluid pressure control unit disposed between the master
cylinder and a wheel cylinder, the fluid pressure control unit, when it
is in operation, reducing the pressure in the wheel cylinder, a brake
fluid being supplied from the master cylinder to the fluid pressure
control unit when increasing the pressure in the wheel cylinder after
reducing the pressure in the wheel cylinder;
a brake operation amount detecting apparatus operable to detect
a brake operating amount of the brake pedal and output a brake
operating amount signal; and
a master cylinder pressure sensor operable to detect a master
cylinder pressure and output a master cylinder pressure signal,
wherein the brake operating amount signal of the brake pedal
detected by the brake operation amount detecting apparatus and the
master cylinder pressure signal detected by the master cylinder
pressure sensor are input into the control unit,
wherein the control unit switches control of the actuator
according to an operation condition of the fluid pressure control unit
such that an assist member passive control is performed when the
fluid pressure control unit is not in operation, and an assist member
active control for driving the actuator according to the master cylinder
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Appeal 2015-002382
Application 12/382,719
pressure signal is performed when the fluid pressure control unit is in
operation,
wherein in the assist member passive control, the control unit
drives the actuator according to the brake operation amount signal,
and
wherein in the assist member active control, the control unit
sets a target value of the master cylinder pressure to a value larger
than the master cylinder pressure when the operation of the fluid
pressure control unit starts, and performs control such that the master
cylinder pressure becomes equal to the target value.
REFERENCES RELIED ON BY THE EXAMINER
Kameoka1 JP 08-324405 A June 5, 1995
fkeda2 DE 10 2006 030 168 A1 Jan. 18, 2007
THE REJECTION ON APPEAL
Claims 1—6, 8—13, 15—20, 23 and 24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C.
§ 103(a) as unpatentable over Kameoka and fkeda.
ANALYSIS
Appellants argue each of independent claims 1,11, and 18 separately.
We address each separately.
Claim 1
Appellants argue claim 1 and dependent claims 2—6, 8—10, 15, and 23
together. Br. 7—12. We select claim 1 for review with the dependent claims
standing or falling therewith. See 37 C.F.R. § 41.37(c)(l)(iv).
1 The Examiner attached an English language machine translation of this
Japanese document to the Office Action of July 16, 2013. See also Br. 8, 9.
We rely upon this English language document.
2 The Examiner states, “US patent 7,367,187 is being used in the rejection;
since the US patent is an English equivalent of the DE document.” Final
Act. 2; Ans. 2. We rely upon this English language document.
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Appeal 2015-002382
Application 12/382,719
The Examiner primarily relies on the teaching of Kameoka for
showing a master cylinder and “an assist member, as marked below.” Final
Act. 2. The “assist member, as marked below” is identified as follows:
Annotated Figure 4 of Kameoka identifies that which the Examiner
correlates to the “Booster/Assist member.” Final Act. 4; Ans. 3.
The Examiner states, “Kameoka teaches a brake control apparatus but
lacks the structures of the assist member, as claimed.'1'1 Final Act. 3
(emphasis added). The Examiner relies on the teachings of Ikeda for
showing such structure, including “assist member 71,” “booster 50,” and
“master cylinder 2.”3 Final Act. 3. The Examiner concludes that it would
have been obvious “to include a brake assist assembly such as taught by
3 The Examiner’s Answer reiterates, “Ikeda is cited to teach the mechanical
features of a booster and assist member that could be used in the brake
system of Kameoka” and “Ikeda’s booster and assist member provides the
structures as required in claim 1.” Ans. 5.
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Appeal 2015-002382
Application 12/382,719
Ikeda in order to boost the brake force using a well-known brake assist
assembly in order to enhance the braking ability in a vehicle.” Final Act. 3
(emphasis added); see also Ans. 5. As understood, the Examiner finds that
Kameoka teaches brake boosting,4 but not the structure associated with such
boosting, and relies on Ikeda for disclosing such well-known structure.
Appellants paraphrase the Examiner’s rejection acknowledging
Kameoka’s lack of structure and the Examiner’s reliance on Ikeda for such
structure. Br. 7. Despite this, Appellants appear to misunderstand the
Examiner’s rejection by contending, “[t]he Kameoka reference does not
disclose a booster and an assist member as required by claim 1.” Br. 8.
Instead, Appellants assert that “element (16) is actually the master cylinder,
and not an assist member” and that “the Kameoka reference clearly does not
disclose a booster.” Br. 8.
First, the Examiner has not identified “element (16)” as the
booster/assist member as Appellants assert. Instead, the Examiner makes
clear that it is “the vertical rectangular box, illustrated between the brake
pedal 15 and the master cylinder 16” that is “interpreted as the booster/assist
member.” Ans. 3; see also id. at 2; Final Act. 4. Second, Appellants do not
address Paragraph 7 of Kameoka stating, “the present invention avoids the
shortage of boosts” and that an object of the invention is to “improve
controlling performance.” Instead, Appellants focus solely on Figure 4 of
Kameoka even after replicating the Examiner’s statement referencing
Kameoka’s Paragraph 7. See Br. 9. Thus, Appellants’ silence regarding
4 The Examiner specifically references Paragraph 7 of Kameoka as teaching
“that boosting is used in the brake system.” Ans. 4; see also Kameoka 7
(“the present invention avoids the shortage of boosts”).
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Appeal 2015-002382
Application 12/382,719
Kameoka’s teachings of brake boosting, and focus instead on Kameoka’s
items 15 and 16 (which are not disputed by the Examiner), are not
persuasive the Examiner erred in relying on Kameoka for teaching a
booster/assist member.
Appellants also contend that Kameoka does not “disclose switching
between an assist member passive control and an assist member active
control as required by claim 1.” Br. 10. Appellants provide no further
explanation as to why or how referenced Figure 22 of Kameoka (Final Act.
2; Ans. 6) fails to “clearly show[] the switching between non-ABS braking
control between time tl and t2 and ABS braking control after t2.” Ans. 6.
Figure 22 of Kameoka is replicated by the Examiner (Ans. 8) and is
reproduced below:
SMH* ..................................................
"■ y
«2:, •*«>>
k*........
*S:;. ............ ,.......... f
The above is a graph showing times tl and t2 and a change in ABS
value at time t2 as a consequence of a change between OFF and ON.
In view of the above, we agree with the Examiner that “figure 22
shows a switching between passive control and active control.” Ans. 6.
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Appeal 2015-002382
Application 12/382,719
Thus, Appellants’ contention that Kameoka does not disclose such switching
is not persuasive.
Appellants further argue that claim 1 requires the setting of a target
value of the pressure in the master cylinder while Kameoka teaches that its
actual value is computed. Br. 10. Hence, according to Appellants, Kameoka
fails to teach or disclose the limitation, “such that the master cylinder
pressure becomes equal to the target value" Emphasis added; see also Br.
10. “In other words, Kameoka does not disclose setting a target value of
master cylinder pressure.” Br. 10.
On this point, the Examiner references Paragraphs 85—87 of
Kameoka. Final Act. 3; Ans. 6, 7. Paragraph 85 states that the value of Kpm
(see Fig. 22 above) “is set up” as a master cylinder oil pressure. See also
Ans. 6. Paragraph 86 states that an offset value KPofs (see Fig. 22 above)
“is added to” the master cylinder oil pressure at time t3. See also Ans. 7.
Hence, although last Paragraph 87 discusses the calculation of master
cylinder oil pressure, the previous two paragraphs discuss how an oil
pressure value (Kpm) “is set up” and how an offset pressure value (KPofs) “is
added to” the oil pressure. Thus, in view of Figure 22 supra and the
teachings found in Kameoka’s paragraphs, Appellants fail to explain how
Kameoka does not disclose an estimate or a target value for an oil pressure.
Nor are Appellants persuasive that Kameoka is limited to only ascertaining
calculated values. See Br. 10-11. Thus, even though the “[p]roblem to be
solved” by Kameoka (Br. 11) is directed elsewhere, that does not detract
from Kameoka’s disclosure (in at least Figure 22 thereof) of a target value or
a teaching of “the master cylinder pressure becomes equal to the target
value” as claimed.
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Appeal 2015-002382
Application 12/382,719
Appellants further contend, “the Ikeda reference does not cure the
above-discussed deficiencies of the Kameoka reference” (Br. 12), but as
indicated above, we are not persuaded of any deficiencies regarding the
Examiner’s reliance on the Kameoka reference. Accordingly, and based on
the record presented, we sustain the Examiner’s rejection of claims 1—6,
8—10, 15, and 23.
Claims 11 and 18
For each of independent claims 11 and 18, Appellants repeat the
argument that “the Kameoka reference does not include an assist member
and booster.” Br. 13. In view of such premise, Appellants state that
Kameoka thus “obviously does not disclose” the further limitations required
of claims 11 and 18. Br. 13—14. As indicated supra, Appellants’ premise is
unfounded and not persuasive. Accordingly, we likewise sustain the
Examiner’s rejection of claims 11—13, 16—20, and 24.
DECISION
The Examiner’s rejection of claims 1—6, 8—13, 15—20, 23 and 24 is
affirmed.
No time period for taking any subsequent action in connection with
this appeal may be extended under 37 C.F.R. § 1.136(a)(l)(iv).
AFFIRMED
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