Patent Application 18551677 - BRAKING CONTROL DEVICE FOR VEHICLE

Title: BRAKING CONTROL DEVICE FOR VEHICLE
Application Information

Invention Title: BRAKING CONTROL DEVICE FOR VEHICLE
Application Number: 18551677
Submission Date: 2025-05-14T00:00:00.000Z
Effective Filing Date: 2023-09-21T00:00:00.000Z
Filing Date: 2023-09-21T00:00:00.000Z
National Class: 701
National Sub-Class: 022000
Examiner Employee Number: 95535
Art Unit: 3663
Tech Center: 3600
Rejection Summary

102 Rejections: 1
103 Rejections: 0
Cited Patents

No patents were cited in this rejection.
Office Action Text



    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 the Claims
This Office Action is in response to the Application filed on September 21, 2023.  Claim 1 is presently pending and are presented for examination.
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 September 21, 2023 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97.  Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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.


Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Niwa et al. (US 20020030408); hereinafter Niwa).
In regards to claim 1, Niwa discloses of a braking control device for a vehicle applied to a vehicle including front and rear wheel regenerative braking devices that generate front and rear wheel regenerative braking forces in a front wheel and a rear wheel (“A braking force control apparatus and method control a braking force of a motor vehicle that has (a) regenerative braking devices for front wheels and rear wheels, respectively, and (b) a friction braking device for each of the front wheels and the rear wheels. A target braking force of the front wheels and a target braking force of the rear wheels are calculated, based on a braking requirement made by a driver of the vehicle and a ratio of braking forces of the front wheels and the rear wheels. Initially, the regenerative braking devices are controlled to generate regenerative braking forces at the front wheels and the rear wheels, and then, if necessary, the friction braking device is controlled to generate a friction braking force at each of the front wheels and rear wheels, so that a total braking force applied to the front wheels and a total braking force applied to the rear wheels are controlled to the front-wheel target braking force and the rear-wheel target braking force, respectively.” (Abstract)), the braking control device comprising:
an actuator that generates front and rear wheel frictional braking forces in the front wheel and the rear wheel (“A hydraulic circuit 46 of a friction braking device 44 is operable to control braking pressures applied to wheel cylinders 48FL, 48FR, 48RL and 48RR corresponding to the left and right front wheels 26FL, 26FR and left and right rear wheels 34RL, 34RR so as to control friction braking forces of the respective wheels 26FL, 26FR, 34RL, 34RR. Although not shown in the drawings, the hydraulic circuit 46 includes a reservoir, an oil pump, and various valve devices. The friction braking device 44 including the hydraulic circuit 46 is controlled by a braking control unit 52. During normal operations, the braking pressures applied to the respective wheel cylinders are controlled by the braking control unit 52, depending upon the pressure of a master cylinder 50 that is driven in accordance with the amount or degree of depression of the brake pedal 32 by the driver.” (Para 0026)); and
a controller that controls the front and rear wheel regenerative braking devices and the actuator, wherein the controller calculates a braking force required by a whole of the vehicle as a target vehicle body braking force (“A controller of the braking force control apparatus calculates a first target braking force of the front wheels and a second target braking force of the rear wheels, based on a braking requirement made by a driver of the vehicle and a ratio of braking forces of the front wheels and the rear wheels. The controller initially causes the first and second regenerative braking devices to generate regenerative braking forces at the front wheels and the rear wheels, and then, if necessary, causes the friction braking device to generate a friction braking force at each of the front wheels and rear wheels, so that a total braking force applied to the front wheels and a total braking force applied to the rear wheels are controlled to the first target braking force and the second target braking force, respectively.” (Para 0010)),
calculates front and rear wheel required braking forces so that, a sum of the front wheel required braking force and the rear wheel required braking force matches the target vehicle body braking force, and a ratio of the rear wheel required braking force to the front wheel required braking force is constant (“Subsequently, the final target deceleration Gt is calculated in step S40 as a sum of the weighted target deceleration Gpt and the weighted target deceleration Gst, and the target front-wheel braking force Fbft and the target rear-wheel braking force Fbrt are calculated in step S60 based on the predetermined ratio of the front-wheel and rear-wheel braking forces and the final target deceleration Gt.” (Para 0045), and “In the illustrated embodiment, the ratio of the total braking force applied to the front wheels by the friction braking device and the regenerative braking device to the total braking force applied to the rear wheels by the friction braking device and the regenerative braking device is always controlled to be equal to the predetermined braking-force ratio, Kf/Kr. Thus, the ratio of the braking forces distributed to the front and rear wheels can be surely controlled to the predetermined braking-force ratio, irrespective of the proportion of the braking force generated by the friction braking device and the braking force generated by the regenerative braking device. It is thus possible to certainly avoid deterioration of the stability of the vehicle and changes in steering characteristics, which would otherwise occur when the ratio of the braking forces applied to the front and rear wheels differs from the predetermined ratio.” (Para 0049), see also Para 0048),
acquires maximum values of the front and rear wheel regenerative braking forces that can be generated and are determined in operating states of front and rear wheel regenerative braking devices as maximum front and rear wheel regenerative braking force (“The braking control unit 52 then calculates target braking forces Fbft and Fbrt for the front wheels and the rear wheels, respectively, based on the final target deceleration Gt and a predetermined ratio of the braking forces distributed to the front wheels and the rear wheels, respectively. Where Frgfmax and Frgrmax represent the maximum regenerative braking forces that can be generated by the regenerative braking devices 30 and 40, respectively, the braking control unit 52 employs the smaller one of the target braking force Fbft and the maximum regenerative braking force Frgfmax as a target regenerative braking force Frgft for the front wheels, and employs the smaller one of the target braking force Fbrt and the maximum regenerative braking force Frgrmax as a target regenerative braking force Frgrt for the rear wheels. The braking control unit 52 then outputs or transmits signals indicative of the front-wheel and rear-wheel target regenerative braking forces Frgft and Frgrt to the engine control unit 28” (Para 0030)), 
achieves the front wheel required braking force by only the front wheel regenerative braking force when the front wheel required braking force is equal to or less than the maximum front wheel regenerative braking force, and by the front wheel regenerative braking force and the front wheel friction braking force when the front wheel required braking force is larger than the maximum front wheel regenerative braking force (“The braking control unit 52 then calculates target braking forces Fbft and Fbrt for the front wheels and the rear wheels, respectively, based on the final target deceleration Gt and a predetermined ratio of the braking forces distributed to the front wheels and the rear wheels, respectively. Where Frgfmax and Frgrmax represent the maximum regenerative braking forces that can be generated by the regenerative braking devices 30 and 40, respectively, the braking control unit 52 employs the smaller one of the target braking force Fbft and the maximum regenerative braking force Frgfmax as a target regenerative braking force Frgft for the front wheels, and employs the smaller one of the target braking force Fbrt and the maximum regenerative braking force Frgrmax as a target regenerative braking force Frgrt for the rear wheels. The braking control unit 52 then outputs or transmits signals indicative of the front-wheel and rear-wheel target regenerative braking forces Frgft and Frgrt to the engine control unit 28” (Para 0030) and “Subsequently, the braking control unit 52 sets a target friction braking force Fbpft of the front wheels to a value obtained by subtracting the front-wheel actual regenerative braking force Frgfa from the front-wheel target braking force Fbft, and sets a target friction braking force Fbprt of the rear wheels to a value obtained by subtracting the rear-wheel actual regenerative braking force Frgra from the rear-wheel target braking force Fbrt. The braking control unit 52 then calculates target braking pressures Pbtfl and Pbtfr applied to the left and right front wheels, based on the front-wheel target friction braking force Fbpft, and calculates target braking pressures Pbtrl and Pbtrr applied to the left and right rear wheels, based on the rear-wheel target friction braking force Fbprt. The braking control unit 52 then controls the braking pressure of each wheel so that the braking pressures Pi (i=fl, fr, rl, rr) of left and right front wheels and left and right rear wheels become equal to the target braking pressures Pbti (i=fl, fr, rl, rr) of the corresponding wheels.” (Para 0032), and “The controller initially causes the first and second regenerative braking devices to generate regenerative braking forces at the front wheels and the rear wheels, and then, if necessary, causes the friction braking device to generate a friction braking force at each of the front wheels and rear wheels, so that a total braking force applied to the front wheels and a total braking force applied to the rear wheels are controlled to the first target braking force and the second target braking force, respectively.” (Para 0010), see also Para 0031 and 0038-0040),
achieves the rear wheel required braking force by only the rear wheel regenerative braking force when the rear wheel required braking force is equal to or less than the maximum rear wheel regenerative braking force, and by the rear wheel regenerative braking force and the rear wheel friction braking force when the rear wheel required braking force is larger than the maximum rear wheel regenerative braking force (“The braking control unit 52 then calculates target braking forces Fbft and Fbrt for the front wheels and the rear wheels, respectively, based on the final target deceleration Gt and a predetermined ratio of the braking forces distributed to the front wheels and the rear wheels, respectively. Where Frgfmax and Frgrmax represent the maximum regenerative braking forces that can be generated by the regenerative braking devices 30 and 40, respectively, the braking control unit 52 employs the smaller one of the target braking force Fbft and the maximum regenerative braking force Frgfmax as a target regenerative braking force Frgft for the front wheels, and employs the smaller one of the target braking force Fbrt and the maximum regenerative braking force Frgrmax as a target regenerative braking force Frgrt for the rear wheels. The braking control unit 52 then outputs or transmits signals indicative of the front-wheel and rear-wheel target regenerative braking forces Frgft and Frgrt to the engine control unit 28” (Para 0030) and “Subsequently, the braking control unit 52 sets a target friction braking force Fbpft of the front wheels to a value obtained by subtracting the front-wheel actual regenerative braking force Frgfa from the front-wheel target braking force Fbft, and sets a target friction braking force Fbprt of the rear wheels to a value obtained by subtracting the rear-wheel actual regenerative braking force Frgra from the rear-wheel target braking force Fbrt. The braking control unit 52 then calculates target braking pressures Pbtfl and Pbtfr applied to the left and right front wheels, based on the front-wheel target friction braking force Fbpft, and calculates target braking pressures Pbtrl and Pbtrr applied to the left and right rear wheels, based on the rear-wheel target friction braking force Fbprt. The braking control unit 52 then controls the braking pressure of each wheel so that the braking pressures Pi (i=fl, fr, rl, rr) of left and right front wheels and left and right rear wheels become equal to the target braking pressures Pbti (i=fl, fr, rl, rr) of the corresponding wheels.” (Para 0032), and “The controller initially causes the first and second regenerative braking devices to generate regenerative braking forces at the front wheels and the rear wheels, and then, if necessary, causes the friction braking device to generate a friction braking force at each of the front wheels and rear wheels, so that a total braking force applied to the front wheels and a total braking force applied to the rear wheels are controlled to the first target braking force and the second target braking force, respectively.” (Para 0010), see also Para 0031 and 0038-0040).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. 
Jeon (US 20220203840) discloses of only applying a regenerative braking force on the wheels of the vehicle unless the force exceeds a maximum value, where a friction force can then be applied.  
Huang et al. (US 20210237583) discloses of determining if a regenerative braking force has exceeded a threshold and if it has using a friction brake to account for the braking force above the threshold.  
Takano et al. (US 20200001716) discloses of determining a constant ratio between a front and rear braking force. 
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KYLE J KINGSLAND whose telephone number is (571)272-3268. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8:00-4:30.
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/KYLE J KINGSLAND/Examiner, Art Unit 3663