Appeal No. 2003-0558 3
Application No. 09/477,601
System claim 9 is directed to a system comprising, among other things, a controller
that includes a comparator for comparing a sensed vehicle parameter from a vehicle
sensor, corresponding to a vehicle load, with a predetermined value and, if the sensed
vehicle parameter exceeds the predetermined value, a high load condition exists and the
driving torque is redistributed between the front and rear wheels.
Taga, the reference alleged by the examiner to anticipate claims 1 and 9, is
directed to a control device and method for limiting torque on front wheels or rear wheels
of a four wheel drive vehicle. As explained in the abstract (with reference numerals
added), Taga’s four wheel drive power transmission
has a center differential device [10] for distributing rotational power [Ti]
supplied from an engine [1] to a front wheel propeller shaft [26] and a rear
wheel propeller shaft [24] at a variable torque dividing ratio therebetween,
and a mechanism [21, 22] for controlling the center differential device so as
to vary the torque dividing ratio according to the magnitude of the torque of
the rotational power [Ti] supplied from the engine so that the torque dividing
ratio is varied toward a decreased ratio for one of the front and rear wheel
propeller shafts and an increased ratio for the other of the front and rear
wheel propeller shafts as the magnitude of torque [Ti] of the rotational power
supplied from the engine increases. The torque [Tf] loaded on one of the
front and rear wheel propeller shafts is maintained not to exceed a
determinate value [Tmax] as torque [Ti] increases.
As set forth at col. 15, lines 7-38, the torque transfer capacity Tc of the center
differential device 10 is controlled in accordance with the formula
p
Tf = ( ))))) )(Ti) + Tc # Tmax
1 + p
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Last modified: November 3, 2007