Appeal No. 2005-0245 Page 3
Application No. 09/848,032
controller halting the engine and powering the vehicle solely with the traction motor
if the battery state of charge is greater than a predetermined charge threshold, and
with said engine controller operating the engine on alternating cylinders in the event
that the engine temperature exceeds the predetermined temperature threshold and
the battery state of charge is less than said predetermined charge threshold.
We affirm and in so doing we incorporate by reference the findings of fact and
conclusions of law articulated by the Examiner in the Answer (Answer, pp. 3-5).2 We add the
following for emphasis.
OPINION
The claims are directed to a hybrid electric vehicle and a process for operating it. There
is no dispute here that the hybrid electric vehicle taught by Kitada includes the internal
combustion engine, electric traction motor, battery, temperature sensor, charge indicator, vehicle
system controller and engine control unit required by claim 15 (Compare Brief, pp. 3-4 with
Answer, pp. 3-5). There is further no dispute that Kitada describes one of the two control
conditions required by the claim, i.e., shutting down an overheating engine and, if there is
sufficient battery charge, powering the vehicle using the electric traction motor (Id.). The
question, thus, is whether it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify
the apparatus and process of Kitada so as to include the second control condition of the claims,
2In the first paragraph of the rejection, the phrase on lines 5-7, should read: “powering the vehicle solely
with the traction motor if the battery state of charge is greater than a predetermined charge threshold.” As the
correction is readily apparent from the context of the sentence and the next sentence and from Kitada, the error is
harmless.
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