SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR
EXHAUST GAS SENSOR MONITORING
FIRST OFFICE ACTION
DRAWINGS
The drawings have been considered and approved.
TITLE
The title is objected to because it is vague and not clearly descriptive of the claimed invention.
ABSTRACT
The abstract has been considered and approved.
SPECIFICATION
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. The Applicant's cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which the Applicant may become aware of in the specification.
CLAIMS
In the event that the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the rationale supporting the rejection would be the same.
35 U.S.C. § 103
In accordance with 35 U.S.C. 103, a patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1 - 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jammoussi et al. (2015/0046063).
With respect to independent claim 1, Jammoussi et al. set forth a method of monitoring an exhaust gas sensor coupled in an engine exhaust in an engine, comprising:
entering variable displacement engine (VDE) mode wherein intake and exhaust valves of
a first subset of cylinders of the engine are activated and intake and exhaust valves of a second
subset of cylinders are deactivated prior to a reduced traction fuel shut off transition (paragraph 20; see variable valve lift systems, which allows for cylinders to be deactivated while other cylinders are activated); and
executing a six-pattern diagnostic to identify exhaust gas sensor degradation (paragraphs 16+).
Jammoussi et al. fail to explicitly set forth that the fuel is shut off when executing a six-pattern diagnostic. However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art armed with Jammoussi et al. that the fuel would be shut off when executing a six-pattern diagnostic.
The motivation being that when the diagnostic is taking place some cylinders may be deactivated by the variable valve lift system. When those cylinders are deactivated, fuel is shut off to those cylinders.
With respect to claim 2, Jammoussi et al. suggest that the engine is an eight-cylinder engine and those a common subset of cylinders that have activated intake and exhaust valves in VDE mode includes four cylinders.
With respect to claim 3, one having ordinary skill in the art armed with Jammoussi et al. would have the knowledge to use four exhaust gas sensors for an eight cylinder engine, one sensor per two cylinders since the exhaust is typically collected in two, (two cylinders followed by four cylinders and finally eight cylinders).
With respect to claim 4, Jammoussi et al. set forth that the exhaust gas sensor senses the air-fuel ratio from the group of cylinders.
With respect to claim 5, Jammoussi et al. set forth the adjusting of engine operations responsive to identification of exhaust gas sensor degradation (paragraph 2).
With respect to claims 6 - 8, Jammoussi et al. set forth a fuel shut-off transition that is interpreted as being one of a fuel shut-off entry and a fuel shut-off exit since fuel is shut off to the cylinders (paragraph 31).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 9 - 20 have been found to be allowable over the prior art.
Independent claim 9 has been found to be allowable over the prior art because the prior art fails to teach or suggest entering a four-cylinder mode prior to a reduced traction fuel shut-off transition in combination with executing a fuel shut-off based six-pattern diagnostic of an exhaust gas sensor to identify a degradation behavior thereof. Claims 10 - 14 depend from claim 9.
Independent claim 15 has been found to be allowable over the prior art because the prior art fails to teach or suggest entering a four-cylinder mode prior to a reduced traction fuel shut-off transition in combination with executing a six-pattern diagnostic of an exhaust gas sensor to identify a degradation behavior thereof. Claims 16 - 20 depend from claim 15.
CITED DOCUMENTS
The Applicant’s attention is directed to the “PTO-892” form for the relevant art made of record at the time of this Office Action.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Any inquiry concerning this communication from the Examiner should be directed to Eric S. McCall whose telephone number is 571-272-2183.
The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from Patent Center. Status information for published applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Patent Center for authorized users only. For questions about access to Patent Center, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free).
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, the Applicant is advised to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) Form at:
https://www.uspto.gov/patents/uspto-automated- interview-request-air-form.
/Eric S. McCall/Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2855