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 .
This office action is a response to an application filed 01/16/2024, in which claims 1-8 are pending and ready for examination.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Information Disclosure Statement
The Examiner has considered the references listed on the Information Disclosure Statement submitted on 01/16/2024.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they do not include the following reference sign(s) mentioned in the description:
Reference no. S5 in paragraph 35 of the instant specification, in relation to Fig 2.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Examiner Notes
Examiner cites particular columns and line numbers in the references as applied to the claims below for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested that, in preparing responses, the applicant fully consider the references in entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed 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.
Claims 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US Patent Publication No. 2022/0219667 to Dudar (hereinafter Dudar)
Regarding claim 1, Dudar discloses a computer system comprising a processor device for controlling pressure release in a liquid gas fuel volume of a vehicle (Controller controls vehicle fuel system with sensor feedback, including consideration/analysis of fuel vapor amount and purging, see p23, 41, 45, p2, Dudar), the vehicle comprising a liquid gas fuel volume (An amount of fuel and vapor considered, see p49, p56, 45, Dudar), a valve controllable to ventilate a volume of fuel gas into ambient surroundings of the vehicle (Vapors can be purged to atmosphere, with valves used to direct or impede flow of vapors, see p48, p66, p74, Dudar), a sensor assembly (sensor feedback, see p23, 41, 45, Duda) and a navigational system (GPS on vehicle, where GPS is a known navigation system, p48, p64, p4, see Duda), the processor device being configured to: - identify the vehicle approaching a confined space (A vehicle’s destination is determined that includes a confined to a space, such as a parked space, p64-65, p48, p4, 47, see Duda), - measure by the sensor assembly a status of the liquid gas fuel volume (Sensor feedback includes fuel amount determination, p61-62, p26, 41, p23, see Duda), - based on the measured status of the liquid gas fuel volume and on historical data, estimate an amount of fuel gas that would be released while the vehicle is located in the confined space (The amount of vapor that would be released during an estimated time confined in a parking space is determined and can be analyzed in view of historical vehicle route and sensed data, see p65, p64, p61-62, p26, 41, p23, see Duda), and - controlling the valve to preemptively ventilate at least the estimated amount of fuel gas from the liquid gas fuel volume before reaching the confined space (Valve is used in view of purging vapor reaching a maximum amount of vapor, see p65-66, p4, 61-p65, p64, p61-62, p26, 41, p23, see Duda).
Claim 2 is rejected on the same grounds as claim 1.
Regarding claim 3, Duda discloses all the limitations of the base claim as outlined above, and are analyzed as previously discussed with regard to that claim.
Duda further discloses further comprising continuously or intermittently collecting data on a group of confined spaces, and wherein the confined space that the vehicle is approaching is comprised in the group of confined spaces (Past drive cycles are considered to a destination that includes at least a group that comprises at least a space to which a vehicle will be confined for a period of time, meaning there is at least an intermittent collection of data, and using this data determine a route approaching a destination to at least the confining parking space that conform a group of at least one confined space, see p64, p47-48, Duda).
Regarding claim 4, Duda discloses all the limitations of the base claim as outlined above, and are analyzed as previously discussed with regard to that claim.
Duda further discloses wherein the data on confined spaces relate to one or more of: type of confined space, ambient temperature, ambient pressure, location and/or time spent by the vehicle in the confined space (Data on past drive cycles and travel logs can relate at least to a confined space of a parking space type, location, parking duration, temperature, see p64-65, p45, p47-48, 51, 53, Duda).
Regarding claim 5, Duda discloses all the limitations of the base claim as outlined above, and are analyzed as previously discussed with regard to that claim.
Duda further discloses wherein the data on confined spaces is collected by the sensor assembly, by a Global Positioning System/Global Navigation Satellite System (GPS/GNSS), by communication with a remote database, and/or by collection of navigational data from the navigational system (Data collected to a destination by GPS and navigation, see p64, p4, p48, Duda).
Regarding claim 6, Duda discloses all the limitations of the base claim as outlined above, and are analyzed as previously discussed with regard to that claim.
Duda further discloses further comprising storing the collected data on confined spaces as historical data (Drive cycles to a destination are stored in databases to produce past cycle data, thus constituting historical data, see p64, p66, p60, p49, p47-48, Duda).
Regarding claim 7, Duda discloses all the limitations of the base claim as outlined above, and are analyzed as previously discussed with regard to that claim.
Duda further discloses wherein measuring the status of the liquid gas fuel volume comprises measuring one or more of: a temperature of the liquid fuel gas volume, a pressure of the liquid fuel gas volume, an ambient pressure and/or an ambient temperature (Measurements can include fuel pressure, emperature, , see p61-62, p26, 41, p23, Duda).
Claim 8 is rejected on the same grounds as claim 1.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Fukui at al., US. Patent Publication No. 2013/0081600 teaches releasing fuel vapors to the atmosphere when a canister capacity is exceeded, and purging fuel vapors during idling stop.
Dudar, US. Patent Publication No. 2020/0032746 teaches a valve adjusting vapors to the atmosphere.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to EMILIO J SAAVEDRA whose telephone number is (571)270-5617. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 9:30am-5:30pm (EST).
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Robert E Fennema can be reached at (571) 272-2748. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/EMILIO J SAAVEDRA/Primary Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2117