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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kawase et al. (Kawase) (Patent/Publication Number US 2011/0305601).
Regarding claims 1 and 4, Kawase discloses an electrically heated catalyst system (23), comprising: a catalyst support (24, 63) that is made of a conductive material and includes an outer surface (61) (e.g. See Paragraphs [0048-0053]); a pair of metal terminals (62, 62A-62F) attached to the outer surface of the catalyst support (e.g. See Paragraphs [0050-0054]); a direct-current power supply (71) configured to apply a voltage across the two metal terminals (e.g. See Paragraphs [0053] As shown in FIG. 3A, among the six electrodes 62, the electrodes 62A to 62C belonging to the first electrode group G1 are connected to the positive side of a power supply 71, and the electrodes 62D to 62F belonging to the second electrode group G2 are connected to the negative side of the power supply 71 with an energization switching circuit 72 therebetween. The power supply 71 is the high-voltage battery 35 in FIG. 1.) (e.g. See Paragraphs [0050-0054]); a switching circuit (72, 75) that is disposed between the two metal terminals and the direct-current power supply and is configured to switch a direction of energization to the two metal terminals (e.g. See Paragraphs [0050-0054, 0058-0060, 0094-0101]); and a controller (51, 75) configured to control the switching circuit (72), wherein, when an energization time to the two metal terminals reaches an end of a prescribed time interval (t1-t2), the controller switches the direction of energization to the two metal terminals (e.g. See Paragraphs [0062] Next, a heater energization control process of the honeycomb structure 24 performed by the engine ECU 50 (the control device 75 in FIG. 3) will be described. FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 are flowcharts of procedures performed in heater energization control. The heater energization control process is performed by the engine ECU 50 after a vehicle starting switch is turned ON, or in other words, after the vehicle system is turned ON.) (e.g. See Paragraphs [0058-0064, 0094-0101]).
Regarding claim 2, Kawase further discloses wherein, if an accumulated value of the energization time to the two metal terminals is greater than or equal to a predetermined change threshold, the controller sets the prescribed time interval to be longer than that in a case in which the accumulated value is less than the change threshold (e.g. See Paragraphs [0072-0073] The energization period (switch-ON period during t11 to t12) for detecting the heater currents Ia to Ic is a short amount of time (1 msec according to the present embodiment) during which the heater currents Ia to Ic can be detected and temperature change in the honeycomb body 61 does not occur. The detection timing of the heater current and the OFF-timing of the switch may be shifted before or after For example, the heater currents Ia to Ic maybe detected upon elapse of 1 msec from timing t11, whereas the switch (any of the switches 73a to 73c) is turned OFF upon elapse of 1.2 msec from timing t11.) (e.g. See Paragraphs [0061-0066, 0072-0075]).
Regarding claim 3, Kawase further discloses wherein the direct-current power supply includes a DC/DC converter (34) that raises or lowers an input direct-current voltage and outputs the voltage to the switching circuit, and the controller sets the prescribed time interval to be shorter when an output voltage of the DC/DC converter is a first value than when the output voltage of the DC/DC converter is a second value, the second value being less than the first value (e.g. See Paragraphs [0044, 0071-0076]).
Regarding claim 5, Kawase further discloses a power supply configured to apply a voltage across the two metal terminals, wherein the power supply is an alternating-current power supply (34) (e.g. See Paragraphs [0044] The motor 28 is connected to a high-voltage battery 35 with an inverter 34 therebetween. When the motor 28 is driven as the power generator, power generated by the motor 28 is used to charge the high-voltage battery 35 after the power is converted from alternating-current to direct-current by the inverter 34. On the other hand, when the motor 28 is driven as the electrical motor, power from the high-voltage battery 35 is supplied to the motor 28 via the inverter 34. State of charge (SOC) of the high-voltage battery 35 is calculated based on charge and discharge currents detected by a current sensor 36. The voltage of the high-voltage battery 35 is, for example, about 200V.) (e.g. See Paragraphs [0044-0047, 0100-0101]).
Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure and consists of seven patents:
Hirooka et al. (Pat./Pub. No. US 2020/0131962), Katsuta et al. (Pat./Pub. No. US 2014/0174059), Hashimoto et al. (Pat./Pub. No. US 2015/0175153), Sugizama et al. (Pat./Pub. No. US 2016/0032806), Gonze et al. (Pat./Pub. No. US 2012/0204540), Aoki et al. (Pat./Pub. No. US 5806307), and Stoltz et al. (Pat./Pub. No. US 2024/0198936), all discloses an exhaust gas purification for use with an internal combustion engine.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Primary Examiner Binh Tran whose telephone number is (571) 272-4865. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisors, Mark Laurenzi, can be reach on (571) 270-7878. The fax phone numbers for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned are (571) 273-8300 for regular communications and for After Final communications.
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Binh Q. Tran
/BINH Q TRAN/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3748
August 03, 2026
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