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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because:
In Figure 7: reference number (560) is not directed to the input rocker lever
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. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. 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.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
Paragraph [0093] states: “a second pin that is movable to selectively the second input rocker lever to the output rocker lever” (emphasis added). The Specification should be amended such that it reads –a second pin that is movable to selectively couple the second input rocker lever to the output rocker lever—
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 4-5, 8, and 14 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Regarding Claim 1
Line 9 recite the language “the at least one input rocker”. For consistency and clarity within the claims, the claim language should be amended such that it reads –the at least one input rocker lever—
Lines 11-12 recite the language “the at least one input rocker”. For consistency and clarity within the claims, the claim language should be amended such that it reads –the at least one input rocker lever—
Regarding Claim 4
Line 3 recites the language “the input rocker lever”. For consistency and clarity within the claims, the claim language should be amended such that it reads –the at least one input rocker lever—
Regarding Claim 5
Lines 2-3 recite the language “the at least one input rocker”. For consistency and clarity within the claims, the claim language should be amended such that it reads –the at least one input rocker lever—
Line 3 recites the language “the output rocker”. For consistency and clarity within the claims, the claim language should be amended such that it reads –the output rocker lever—
Regarding Claim 8
Line 3 recites the language “second pin that is movable to selectively the second input rocker lever to the output rocker lever” (emphasis added). The claim language should be amended such that it reads –second pin that is movable to selectively couple the second input rocker lever to the output rocker lever—
Regarding Claim 14
Lines 1-2 recite the language “the second at least one other rocker lever is an output rocker lever”. For consistency and clarity within the claims, the claim language should be amended such that it reads—the second
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 5, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being clearly anticipated by Erickson, EP 3667037 A1.
Regarding Claim 1
Erickson discloses a rocker system (120) for an internal combustion engine (10) (Erickson, [0001], Figure 2) having a camshaft (156) with at least one camshaft lobe (100a, 100b, 108) (Erickson, [0020], Figure 2), the at least one camshaft lobe (100a, 100b, 108) including a cam lobe profile (104, 112) with a first portion (P1, annotated portion of Figure 6 of Erickson below), a second portion (P2, annotated portion of Figure 6 of Erickson below), and a third portion (P3, annotated portion of Figure 6 of Erickson below) (Erickson, annotated Figure 6 below and Figure 8), the rocker system (120) comprising:
at least one input rocker lever (176) rotatable about an engine component (110) in response to motion received from the at least one camshaft lobe (100a, 100b, 108) (Erickson, [0029], Figures 5 and 6); and
an output rocker lever (172) rotatable about the engine component (110), and the output rocker lever (172) can be selectively coupled to the at least one input rocker lever (176) to control opening and closing of at least one of an exhaust valve and an intake valve (40a, 40b) associated with a cylinder (26) of the internal combustion engine (10) (Erickson, [0031], Figure 1), the at least one input rocker (176) is rotated by the first portion (P1, annotated Figure 6 of Erickson below) of the cam lobe profile (112) to produce a desired lift of the at least one of the exhaust valve and the intake valve (40a, 40b) while the at least one input rocker lever (176) is coupled to the output rocker lever (172) (via locking mechanism (180)) (Erickson, [0029], annotated Figure 6 below and Figure 8), wherein the at least one input rocker (176) is rotated by the second portion (P2, annotated Figure 6 of Erickson below) of the cam lobe profile (112) to misalign the at least one input rocker lever (176) with the output rocker lever (172) to prevent coupling of the at least one input rocker lever (176) and the output rocker lever (172) (Erickson, [0032] and [0036], annotated Figure 6 below and Figure 8), and the at least one input rocker lever (176) is rotated by the third portion (P3, annotated Figure 6 of Erickson below) of the cam lobe profile (112) to align the at least one input rocker lever (176) with the output rocker lever (172) for coupling the at least one input rocker lever (176) to the output rocker lever (172) (Erickson, annotated Figure 6 below and Figure 8).
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Figure 1: Annotated portion of Figure 6 of Erickson
Regarding Claim 5
Erickson discloses the rocker system of claim 1, further comprising at least one valve lift switch (180) for coupling the at least one input rocker lever (176) to the output rocker lever (172) when the at least one input rocker (176) is aligned with the output rocker (172) to transfer motion from the first portion of the at least one camshaft lobe to the at least one of the exhaust valve and the intake valve (40a, 40b) (Erickson, [0023] and [0031], Figures 4 and 6).
Regarding Claim 20
Erickson discloses a method for operating a rocker system (120), the method comprising: aligning an input rocker lever (176) and an output rocker lever (172) with a camshaft lobe (100a, 100b, 108) (Erickson, Figures 4 and 6); coupling the aligned input rocker lever (176) to the output rocker lever (172) [via pin (232)] (Erickson, [0032], Figures 4 and 6); lifting at least one of an intake valve and an exhaust valve (40a, 40b) with the output rocker lever (176) in response to movement of the input rocker lever (176) induced by the camshaft lobe (100a, 100b, 108) (Erickson, [0040], Figures 4 and 6); decoupling the input rocker lever (176) from the output rocker lever (172) (Erickson, [0034], Figure 8); and misaligning the input rocker lever (176) with the output rocker lever (172) with the camshaft lobe (100a, 100b, 108) to prevent coupling the input rocker lever (176) to the output rocker lever (172) (Erickson, Figure 8) until the input rocker lever (176) and the output rocker lever (172) are aligned with the camshaft lobe (100a, 100b, 108) (Erickson, Figure 6).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
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, 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.
Claim(s) 1-14 and 16-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schott, DE 102020113222 A1, in view of Marsh, US 10,156,162.
Regarding Claim 1
Schott discloses a rocker system (rocker arm arrangement) for an internal combustion engine having a camshaft (8) with at least one camshaft lobe (18, 19) (Schott, Figure 1), the at least one camshaft lobe (18, 19) including a cam lobe profile with a first portion (Schott, Figures 1-3),
the rocker system comprising:
at least one input rocker lever (1b, 1c) rotatable about an engine component (3) in response to motion received from the at least one camshaft lobe (18, 19) (Schott, Figures 1-3); and
an output rocker lever (1a) rotatable about the engine component (3), and the output rocker lever (1a) can be selectively coupled to the at least one input rocker lever (1b, 1c) to control opening and closing of at least one of an exhaust valve (4, 5) and an intake valve (6, 7) associated with a cylinder of the internal combustion engine (Schott, Figures 4-6), the at least one input rocker (1b, 1c) is rotated by the first portion of the cam lobe profile to produce a desired lift of the at least one of the exhaust valve (4, 5) and the intake valve (6, 7) while the at least one input rocker lever (1b, 1c) is coupled to the output rocker lever (1a) (via locking mechanism (9, 10)) (Schott, Figures 4-6).
However, Schott does not disclose that the cam lobe profile includes a second portion and a third portion, wherein the at least one input rocker is rotated by the second portion of the cam lobe profile to misalign the at least one input rocker lever with the output rocker lever to prevent coupling of the at least one input rocker lever and the output rocker lever, and the at least one input rocker lever is rotated by the third portion of the cam lobe profile to align the at least one input rocker lever with the output rocker lever for coupling the at least one input rocker lever to the output rocker lever.
Marsh teaches a rocker system comprising at least one camshaft lobe with a cam lobe profile, wherein the cam lobe profile (230) includes a first portion (232), a second portion (234), and a third portion (236) to perform three different lifting functions (Marsh, Column 5, Lines 17-51, Figure 3).
At the time the claimed invention was filed it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to substitute the camshaft lobe with a cam lobe profile with three portions as taught by Marsh for one of the camshaft lobes as taught by Schott since this would provide the advantage of a variety of valve lift profiles. [It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that in a combination of Schott and Marsh, the at least one input rocker is rotated by the second portion of the cam lobe profile to misalign the at least one input rocker lever with the output rocker lever to prevent coupling of the at least one input rocker lever and the output rocker lever, and the at least one input rocker lever is rotated by the third portion of the cam lobe profile to align the at least one input rocker lever with the output rocker lever for coupling the at least one input rocker lever to the output rocker lever.]
Regarding Claim 2
Schott and Marsh teach the rocker system of claim 1, wherein the at least one input rocker lever (1b, 1c) is aligned with the output rocker lever (1a) (Schott, Figures 4-6), and is therefore capable of switching engagement with the output rocker lever (1a) over a first range of crank angle degrees of a crankshaft of the internal combustion engine (Schott, Figures 4-6).
Regarding Claim 3
Schott and Marsh teach the rocker system of claim 2, wherein the at least one input rocker (1b, 1c) is misaligned with the output rocker (1a) (Schott, Figures 4-6), and is therefore capable of preventing switching engagement with the output rocker lever (1a) over a second range of crank angle degrees of the crankshaft of the internal combustion engine (Schott, Figures 4-6).
Regarding Claim 4
Schott and Marsh teach the rocker system of claim 2, wherein the output rocker lever (1a) controls opening and closing of the at least one of the exhaust valve (4, 5) and the intake valve (6, 7) while in switching engagement with the input rocker lever (1b, 1c) (Schott, Abstract).
Regarding Claim 5
Schott and Marsh teach the rocker system of claim 1, further comprising at least one valve lift switch (9, 10, 11) for coupling the at least one input rocker lever (1b, 1c) to the output rocker lever (1a) when the at least one input rocker (1b, 1c) is aligned with the output rocker (1a) to transfer motion from the first portion of the at least one camshaft lobe to the at least one of the exhaust valve (4, 5) and the intake valve (6, 7) (Schott, Figures 4-6).
Regarding Claim 6
Schott and Marsh teach the rocker system of claim 5, wherein the at least one input rocker lever includes (1b, 1c) a first input rocker lever (1b), the rocker system further comprising a second input rocker lever (1c), and the first and second input rocker levers (1b, 1c) are each rotatable about the engine component (3, rocker arm axis) in response to motion received from respective ones of a first camshaft lobe (18) and a second camshaft lobe (19) of the camshaft (8) (Schott, Figures 1-6).
Regarding Claim 7
Schott and Marsh teach the rocker system of claim 6, wherein the at least one valve lift switch (9, 10, 11) includes at least one pin (9b, 10a) that is movable to selectively couple each of the first and second input rocker levers (1b, 1c) to the output rocker lever (1a) (Schott, Figures 4-6).
Regarding Claim 8
Schott and Marsh teach the rocker system of claim 6, wherein the at least one valve lift switch includes a first pin (9b, cylindrical coupling piston) that is movable to selectively couple the first input rocker lever (1b) to the output rocker lever (la) and a second pin (10a, cylindrical coupling piston) that is movable to selectively the second input rocker lever (1c) to the output rocker lever (1a) (Schott, Figures 4-6).
Regarding Claim 9
Schott discloses a camshaft (8) for an internal combustion engine having a cylinder and at least one of an intake valve (6, 7) and an exhaust valve (4, 5) associated with the cylinder (Schott, [0005] and [0027], Figure 1), the camshaft comprising:
at least one camshaft lobe (18, 19) configured to control an opening and closing timing of the at least one of the exhaust valve (4, 5) and the intake valve (6, 7) by the at least one cam shaft lobe (18, 19) inducing movement of a rocker lever (Schott, [0027], Figure 1), the at least one camshaft lobe (18, 19) including a cam lobe profile (Schott, Figures 1-3) including: a first portion that produces a lift to open the at least one of the exhaust valve (4, 5) and the intake valve (6, 7) through the rocker lever while the rocker lever is associated with the at least one of the exhaust valve and the intake valve (4, 5) (Schott, [0027], Figure 1).
However, Schott does not disclose a second portion which misaligns the rocker lever to prevent association of the rocker lever with the at least one of the exhaust valve and the intake valve; and a third portion which aligns the rocker lever for associating the rocker lever to the at least one of the exhaust valve and the intake valve.
Marsh teaches a rocker system comprising at least one camshaft lobe with a cam lobe profile, wherein the cam lobe profile (230) includes a first portion (236), a second portion (232), and a third portion (234) to perform three different lifting functions (Marsh, Column 5, Lines 17-51, Figure 3).
At the time the claimed invention was filed it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to substitute the camshaft lobe with a cam lobe profile with three portions as taught by Marsh for one of the camshaft lobes as taught by Schott since this would provide the advantage of a variety of valve lift profiles. [It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that in a combination of Schott and Marsh, the second portion misaligns the rocker lever to prevent association of the rocker lever with the at least one of the exhaust valve and the intake valve; and the third portion aligns the rocker lever for associating the rocker lever to the at least one of the exhaust valve and the intake valve.]
Regarding Claim 10
Schott and Marsh teach the camshaft of claim 9, wherein the third portion (234) of the cam lobe profile is a constant lift profile that lifts the rocker lever over a first range of crank angle degrees of a crankshaft of the internal combustion engine (Marsh, Abstract, Figure 3).
Regarding Claim 11
Schott and Marsh teach the camshaft of claim 10, wherein the second portion (232) of the cam lobe profile is a base circle profile extends from the first portion (236) of the cam lobe profile to the third portion (234) of the cam lobe profile (Marsh, Figure 3).
Regarding Claim 12
Schott and Marsh teach the camshaft of claim 10, wherein the third portion (234) of the cam lobe profile is connected to the first portion (236) of the cam lobe profile with a transition portion that is smaller in size (duration) than the constant lift profile (of the third portion (234)) (Marsh, Figure 3).
Regarding Claim 13
Schott discloses a valve train for an internal combustion engine, the valve train comprising: one of an intake valve (6, 7) or exhaust valve (4, 5) (Schott, Figure 1); a camshaft (8) including a camshaft lobe (18) (Schott, Figures 1-2); a first rocker lever (1b) movable by the camshaft lobe (18) (Schott, Figures 1-2); and a switch apparatus (9, coupling agent) for selectively coupling the first rocker lever (1b) to a second rocker lever (1a) (Schott, Figure 4), wherein the camshaft lobe (18) includes a lift profile with a first portion (Schott, Figures 1-2) that lifts the one of the intake valve (6, 7) or exhaust valve (4, 5) associated with the camshaft lobe (18) through the first rocker lever (1b) (Schott, Figures 1-2).
However, Schott does not disclose a second portion that misaligns the first rocker lever with the second rocker lever, and a third portion that aligns the first rocker lever with the second rocker lever.
Marsh teaches a rocker system comprising at least one camshaft lobe with a cam lobe profile, wherein the cam lobe profile (230) includes a first portion (232), a second portion (234), and a third portion (236) to perform three different lifting functions (Marsh, Column 5, Lines 17-51, Figure 3).
At the time the claimed invention was filed it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to substitute the camshaft lobe with a cam lobe profile with three portions as taught by Marsh for one of the camshaft lobes as taught by Schott since this would provide the advantage of a variety of valve lift profiles. [It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that in a combination of Schott and Marsh, the second portion misaligns the first rocker lever with the second rocker lever, and the third portion aligns the first rocker lever with the second rocker lever.]
Regarding Claim 14
Schott and Marsh teach the valve train of claim 13, wherein the second at least one other rocker lever (1a) is an output rocker lever (1a) connected to the one of the intake valve (6, 7) or exhaust valve (4, 5) (Schott, Figures 1-2).
Regarding Claim 16
Schott and Marsh teach the valve train of claim 13, wherein the second portion of the lift profile of the camshaft lobe misaligns the switch apparatus (9, coupling agent) to prevent coupling of the first rocker lever (1b) with the second rocker lever (1a) (Schott, Figures 4-6).
Regarding Claim 17
Schott and Marsh teach the valve train of claim 13, wherein the second portion of the lift profile of the camshaft lobe aligns the switch apparatus (9) to couple of the first rocker lever (1b) with the second rocker lever (1a) (Schott, Figures 4-6).
Regarding Claim 18
Schott and Marsh teach the valve train of claim 13, wherein the switch apparatus (9) includes at least one pin (9b, cylindrical coupling piston) that is housed in one of the first and second rocker levers (1b, 1a) when the first and second rocker levers (1b, 1a) are not coupled to one another (Schott, Figure 6).
Regarding Claim 19
Schott and Marsh teach the valve train of claim 18, wherein the at least one pin (9b, cylindrical coupling piston) spans between the first rocker lever (1b) and the second rocker lever (1a) when the first and second rocker levers (1b, 1a) are coupled to one another (Schott, Figure 4).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 15 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
In the valve train of claim 15, the inclusion of:
“the second rocker lever is moved by a second camshaft lobe, wherein the second camshaft lobe includes a second lift profile that lifts the one of the intake valve or exhaust valve when associated with the second camshaft lobe through the second rocker lever, and the second camshaft lobe includes a base circle portion that is a same size as the third portion of the camshaft lobe” was not found.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KELSEY L STANEK whose telephone number is (571)272-3565. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri 9:00am-3:00pm.
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/K.L.S/Examiner, Art Unit 3746 /DEVON C KRAMER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3741