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 § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 5-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 5 recites the limitation "the enclosed gas" in the 10th line of the claim, and “the intake valves” in the 7th line of the claim. There is insufficient antecedent basis for these limitation in the claim. Claims 6-8 depend on claim 1 and are therefore rejected.
Claim 6 recites in the 1st line of the claim “according to claim 1”. It is unclear what claim 6 depends upon wherein claim 1 has been cancelled.
Claim 6 recites the limitation "the further cylinders" in the 3rd line of the claim. There is insufficient antecedent basis for these limitation in the claim.
Claim 7 recites the limitation "the residual gas" in the 2nd line of the claim. There is insufficient antecedent basis for these limitation in the claim.
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.
Claims 5-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kolhouse et al (US 11,499,490 hereinafter “Kolhouse”).
In regards to claim 5:
Kolhouse teaches a device for controlling an internal combustion engine (102) in an electrified hybrid vehicle having a traction electric machine (114), wherein the internal combustion engine (102) has multiple cylinders (104) which are each equipped with at least one exhaust valve (106) switchable in a two-stage manner, wherein: multiple cylinders of the internal combustion engine are each able to be suppressed for at least one working cycle (Col 4, Lines 57-67 recites Cylinder Deactivation mode (CDA) that can be fixed with the same cylinder(s) being activated and deactivated or skip fire mode having one or more cylinders deactivated on a cycle-by-cycle basis), wherein at least the exhaust valves are kept closed, the exhaust valves and the intake valves of the cylinders of the internal combustion engine are controlled in a synchronized manner (Col 19, Line 67 – Col 20, Line 2 recites “With the intake valve and the exhaust valve closed, additional contents are or are substantially prevented from entering the cylinder 104. At process 310, the cylinder 104 is deactivated, wherein the valves 106 of the cylinder 104 are closed or substantially closed until the cylinder 104 is reactivated.”), and, at least in a first cylinder, from the end of the suppression, the exhaust valve is opened with the intake valve closed, and the enclosed gas is discharged without injection and ignition (Col 5, Lines 25-29 recites “In operation and when a reactivation command is received, the controller may open an exhaust valve of the deactivated cylinder(s) to allow at least some of the contents of the cylinder to be exhaled to an exhaust gas conduit.”).
In regards to claim 6:
Kolhouse teaches wherein in the first cylinder, from the end of the suppression, the exhaust valve is opened with the intake valve closed, and the enclosed gas is discharged without injection and ignition (Col 5, Lines 25-29), and in the further cylinders after the first cylinder, from the end of the suppression, at least a predefined minimum amount of fuel is injected and ignited before the discharge of the enclosed gas, wherein Kolhouse recites other cylinders that are not suppressed igniting a minimum amount of fuel and ignited while the suppressed cylinder goes through at least one entire cycle .
In regards to claim 7:
Kolhouse teaches a negative torque profile resulting from the suppression with enclosure of the residual gas is compensated by the traction electric machine (Col 4, Lines 47-53 recites “an electric motive device, such as an electric motor, motor-generator, and the like, to supplement power during cylinder deactivation and cylinder reactivation when a vehicle receives a request” and Col 13, Lines 40-45 “In operation and as described herein, when the controller 118 receives an input, such as a power request, from the input device 120, the controller 118 then determines the supplemental power required or likely required by the electric motive device 114 to fulfill the power request relative to a current power output from the engine 103.”). Furthermore, this is functional language, wherein the claim recites an observed state of the structure.
In regards to claim 8:
Kolhouse teaches a system capable of after the discharge of the enclosed gas without injection and ignition, and subsequently, at least the first cylinder is filled with a minimum amount of air and ignited with very low efficiency, and proceeding from there, the combustion, for torque build-up, is adjusted in an increasing and controlled manner by way of a shallow ramp, which is predefined so as to be compensated by the traction electric machine, wherein the claim recites functional language with method steps of utilizing the structure of the engine.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAMES JAY KIM whose telephone number is (571)270-7610. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5 EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Logan Kraft can be reached at (571) 270-5065. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JAMES J KIM/Examiner, Art Unit 3747 /HUNG Q NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3747