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 .
Response to Arguments
The arguments filed 10 March 2026 have been considered and the previous rejection has been withdrawn in view of the amendments.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-3 and 5-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Regarding claim 1, the claim recites newly added limitations of “causing, by a compressor, a rod coupled with the piston to bias the piston into the combustion chamber; and slidably receiving, by a hydraulic chamber disposed between the combustion chamber and the compressor, the rod measuring time between compression of fuel mixture to the second pressure and second temperature and auto ignition of the stoichiometric fuel mixture.” The claim is directed towards a method which previously discloses “compressing, by a piston slidably communicating with the combustion chamber, the stoichiometric fuel mixture” which appears to be the action taken by the rod and piston. Therefore, there has not been a method disclosed which recites the three separate steps of 1) compressing by a piston, the fuel mixture, 2) causing, by a compressor, a rod to bias the piston into the combustion chamber, and 3) receiving the rod. Rather, it appears as though all three steps are part of single action which all occur during the compressing step. In other words, while all three of the actions are supported, the method claimed in the order presented is not. For the purposes of examination, it will be assumed that all of the newly added limitations occur within a single compressing step.
All claims which depend from claim 1 are rejected for the same reasons due to their dependency thereon.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-3 and 5-9 may be allowable if rewritten or amended 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.
Claims 11, 13-19, 22 and 23 are allowed.
With regard to claim 11, Dai discloses on page 5, the experimental setup of the system including an RCM which is the same as citations 39 and 40 of the document. Therefore, the RCM is that which is described by Lee and Hochgreb in the provided document (“Rapid Compression Machines: Heat Transfer and Suppression of Corner Vortex”), which on page 533 teaches that the piston in the system is driven by compressed air. However, the system does not include the hydraulic chamber which is used for receiving the rod and driving the piston in a system used to measure the ignition index as claimed. Rather, the prior art relies upon an engine piston or similar setup which uses the reciprocating motion of the piston to compress the fuel, and not a controlled hydraulic piston.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Mark A. Shabman whose telephone number is (571)272-8589. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00-4:30 EST.
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/MARK A SHABMAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2855