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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of group I (claims 1-7, 16-20) in the reply filed on 2/4/2026 is acknowledged.
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) 1-2, 5-7, 16-17, 19-24, 26-28 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 11,193,438 to Zhang.
Regarding claim 1, Zhang discloses a system, comprising:
an aftertreatment system (70, fig. 1) including a catalyst (301-331, figs. 3A-3B);
a pump (turbocharger including turbine 176 and compressor 174, fig. 1 or piston of engine used as pump as disclosed in col. 21, lines 42-50) coupled to at least an intake of an engine and an exhaust of the engine (turbocharger 44 used as pump as admitted by applicant in [48] of specification and piston of the engine is also used as pump as disclosed in [44]));
a heater (75, fig. 1) positioned downstream of the engine; and
a controller (12, fig. 1) coupled to at least the aftertreatment system, the pump, and the heater, wherein during a warmup period (steps 404-406, cold start, fig. 4A) for the aftertreatment system, the controller is configured to:
maintain the engine in an off state (col. 8, line 65-col. 9, line 4);
initiate the heater to increase a temperature of the aftertreatment system (col. 21, lines 42-50); and
control the pump to generate an airflow directed from the intake to the heater to increase the temperature of the aftertreatment system (col. 21, lines 42-50).
Regarding claim 2, Zhang discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the warmup period is defined as a period of time from a first instant of receiving a signal to start the engine to a second instance when the catalyst reaches a predetermined temperature (cold start includes the claimed range).
Regarding claim 5, Zhang discloses the system of claim 1, wherein at least the pump and the heater are coupled to at least one battery structured to provide power to at least the pump and the heater (steps 404-414, fig. 4A; when is engine and heater are cranked with battery; col. 14, line 29-col. 15, line 22).
Regarding claim 6, Zhang discloses the system of claim 5, wherein to initiate the heater and control the pump, the controller is configured to:
send a command to the at least one battery to supply power to the heater to increase the temperature of the aftertreatment system (Step 416, fig, 4A) and to supply power to the pump to generate the airflow directed from the intake to the heater to increase the temperature of the aftertreatment system (steps 404-414, fig. 4A; when is engine and heater are cranked with battery; col. 14, line 29-col. 15, line 22).
Regarding claim 7, Zhang discloses the system of claim 1, wherein to maintain the engine in the off state, the controller is configured to prevent combustion of the engine during the warmup period for the aftertreatment system (steps 404-424, fig. 4A, engine is kept in an off position).
Regarding claim 16, Zhang discloses a method, comprising:
maintaining, by a controller coupled to at least an aftertreatment system, at least an engine in an off state during a warmup period for a system (steps 404-424, fig. 4A, engine is kept in an off position);
initiating, by the controller, a heater of the system to increase a temperature of the system (steps 414-416, fig. 4A); and
controlling, by the controller, an air mover (turbocharger including turbine 176 and compressor 174, fig. 1 or piston of engine used as pump as disclosed in col. 21, lines 42-50) of the system to direct airflow from an intake of the engine to the heater to increase the temperature of the system (steps 404-414, fig. 4A) .
Regarding claim 17, Zhang discloses the method of claim 16, wherein the warmup period is defined as a period of time from a first instant of receiving a signal to start the engine to a second instance when a catalyst of the aftertreatment system reaches a predetermined temperature (steps 416 to step 426, fig. 4A).
Regarding claim 19, Zhang discloses the method of claim 16, further comprising:
opening, by the controller, at least one intake valve and at least one exhaust valve of at least one cylinder of the engine to cause the airflow to move from the intake to the heater via the at least one cylinder of the engine (Step 410, fig. 4A).
Regarding claim 20, Zhang discloses the method of claim 16, further comprising:
actuating, by the controller, one or more valves of the engine to provide at least one path for the airflow from the intake to the heater (step 410, fig. 4A).
Regarding claim 21, Zhang discloses a controller, comprising:
one or more processors coupled to at least one memory (12, fig. 1), the one or more processors to operable to:
maintain an engine in an off state (steps 404-424, fig. 4A, engine is kept in an off position);
activate a heater to increase a temperature of an aftertreatment system (steps 414-416, fig. 4A); and
control an air mover (turbocharger including turbine 176 and compressor 174, fig. 1 or piston of engine used as pump as disclosed in col. 21, lines 42-50) to generate an airflow directed from an intake of an engine to the heater to increase the temperature of the aftertreatment system (steps 404-414, fig. 4A).
Regarding claim 22, Zhang discloses the controller of claim 21, wherein the one or more processors are operable to maintain the engine in the off state during a warmup period for the aftertreatment system (steps 404-424, fig. 4A, engine is kept in an off position).
Regarding claim 23, Zhang discloses the controller of claim 22, wherein the warmup period is defined as a period of time from a first instance of receiving a signal to start the engine to a second instance when the aftertreatment system reaches a predetermined temperature (steps 416 to step 426, fig. 4A).
Regarding claim 24, Zhang discloses the controller of claim 21, wherein the air mover generates the airflow that directs the heat from the heater to the aftertreatment system to increase the temperature of the aftertreatment system (operation of the unfueled engine as disclosed in col. 21, lines 42-50).
Regarding claim 26, Zhang discloses the controller of claim 21, wherein the air mover and the heater are powered by at least one battery (61, fig. 1).
Regarding claim 27, Zhang discloses the controller of claim 21, wherein to maintain the engine in the off state, the one or more processors are operable to prevent combustion in the engine during a warmup period for the aftertreatment system (steps 404-424, fig. 4A, engine is kept in an off position).
Regarding claim 28, Zhang discloses the controller of 21, further comprising:
a turbine (176, fig. 1) positioned downstream of the air mover and the engine and positioned upstream of the heater; and a compressor (174, fig. 1) positioned upstream of the air mover and the intake of the engine.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 3-4, 18, and 25 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang as applied to claims 1, 16, and 21 above, respectively, and further in view of US 2022/0034283 to Andersson et al (Andersson).
Regarding claim 3, Zhang discloses the system of claim 1, but does not explicitly disclose which Andersson discloses:
the pump is an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) pump (150, fig. 2; 48]) structured to operate to direct the airflow from the intake to the heater while bypassing the engine ([30], [48]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to the one with ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have the EGR pump of Andersson as the pump in Zhang so that a reduced time period for heating the exhaust gas aftertreatment system is achieved ([11]; Andersson).
Regarding claim 4, Zhang discloses the system of claim 1, further comprising:
a turbine (176, fig. 1; Zhang) positioned downstream of the pump and the engine and positioned upstream of the heater; and
a compressor (174, fig. 1; Zhang) positioned upstream of the pump and the intake of the engine.
However, Zhang does not explicitly disclose which Andersson discloses:
an EGR cooler (160, fig. 2) positioned upstream of the pump and positioned at or downstream of the intake of the engine(fig. 2).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to the one with ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to add the EGR path and EGR Cooler of Andersson to the system of Zhang so that a reduced time period for heating the exhaust gas aftertreatment system is achieved ([11]; Andersson).
Regarding claim 18, Zhang discloses the method of claim 16, but does not explicitly disclose which Andersson discloses:
opening, by the controller coupled to an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) circuit (fig. 2), a valve (132, fig. 2)of the EGR circuit to cause the airflow to move from the intake to the heater via the EGR circuit ([30], [48].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to the one with ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have opening, by the controller coupled to an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) circuit, a valve of the EGR circuit to cause the airflow to move from the intake to the heater via the EGR circuit as taught by Andersson with the method of Zhang so that a reduced time period for heating the exhaust gas aftertreatment system is achieved ([11]; Andersson).
Regarding claim 25, Zhang discloses the controller of claim 21, but does not explicitly disclose which Andersson discloses:
the air mover is an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) pump (EGR) pump (150, fig. 2; 48]) structured to generate the airflow from the intake to the heater while bypassing the engine ([30], [48]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to the one with ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have the EGR pump of Andersson as the air mover in Zhang so that a reduced time period for heating the exhaust gas aftertreatment system is achieved ([11]; Andersson).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 11,692,500 to Magnusson et al.
US 11,535,238 to Zhang
US 11,220,941 to Kemmerling et al.
US 10,066,535 to Yi et al.
US 2024/0295185 to Sundaracel Damotharan et al.
All references above describe general state of art.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAPINDER SINGH whose telephone number is (571)270-1774. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday from 8:00 AM to 5:30 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Mark Laurenzi can be reached at (571) 270-7878. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DAPINDER SINGH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3746