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 § 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 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Noble et al. (US 5,492,007 – hereafter “Noble”).
As per claim 1, Noble discloses at least in figs. 3, 8, 10 – 12 a combustion state detection device for an internal combustion engine (the device compromises an ignition coil 58 and spark plug 62, see col. 3, ll. 13 – 22; a break down detector 60, see col. 3, ll. 21 – 22; and an engine controller 52 which performs the misfire detection, see col. 5, l. 28 – col. 6, l. 4), comprising:
a discharge feature amount acquisition unit which acquires a discharge feature amount based on a voltage value or a current value of an ignition coil connected to a spark plug of the internal combustion engine (a counter in engine controller 52 is used to measure the time-to-fire of the ignition spark, started at the moment the secondary voltage begins to rise and stopped by the output signal of breakdown detector 60 at the instant of the breakdown discharge, this ignition spark time-to-fire measurement being stored by engine controller 52; see col. 5, l. 65 – col. 6, l. 4);
and a determination unit which compares the discharge feature amount acquired by the discharge feature amount acquisition unit with a predetermined determination threshold value (the calculated measurement for the interrogating spark time-to-fire is compared to the actual measurement of the interrogating spark time-to-fire, and if the two are sufficiently close in value, engine controller 52 presumes a misfire condition exists; see col. 6, ll. 17 – 23),
wherein the spark plug executes an ignition spark discharge for igniting an air-fuel mixture and a detection spark discharge in the same engine cycle after the ignition spark discharge (the invention accomplishes misfire detection by sensing the breakdown voltage during a second, interrogating spark, the interrogating spark being a diagnostic spark fired into the spark gap after the ignition spark but within a crankangle window where combustion should be in process; see col. 1, ll. 50 – 58),
the discharge feature amount acquisition unit acquires the discharge feature amount based on the voltage value or current value of the ignition coil in the detection spark discharge (another time-to-fire measurement is taken for the subsequent interrogating spark, with a counter in engine controller 52 started at the beginning of the secondary voltage rise for the interrogating spark and stopped at the instant of the breakdown discharge; see col. 6, ll. 5 – 11),
and the determination unit determines whether the internal combustion engine is in a misfire state or a non-misfire state based on the comparison between the discharge feature amount and the predetermined determination threshold value (the calculated measurement for the interrogating spark time-to-fire is compared to the actual measurement, and if sufficiently close in value, engine controller 52 presumes a misfire condition exists and an appropriate response is taken; see col. 6, ll. 17 – 23).
As per claim 17, Noble discloses the combustion state detection device for the internal combustion engine according to Claim 1, comprising: an ECU which outputs an ignition signal for causing the spark plug to execute the ignition spark discharge and the detection spark discharge (see col. 6, ll. 44 – 48), wherein the ECU includes the discharge feature amount acquisition unit and the determination unit (see col. 5, l. 65 – col. 6, l. 24).
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.
Claims 5 and 9 – 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Noble in view of Qu et al. (US 2011/0041803 A1 – hereafter “Qu”).
Regarding claim 5, the claim recites “The combustion state detection device for the internal combustion engine according to Claim 1, wherein the discharge feature amount acquisition unit acquires an average voltage value of the ignition coil during a predetermined averaging period of the detection spark discharge based on the voltage value of the ignition coil, and the determination unit determines that the internal combustion engine is in the misfire state when the average voltage value is smaller than a predetermined average voltage determination threshold value.”
Noble fails to teach acquiring an average voltage value during a predetermined averaging period of the detection spark discharge and determining misfire when the average voltage value is smaller than a predetermined average voltage determination threshold value.
Qu teaches integrating the value of ionization energy through a sampling window, wherein a misfire is determined when the integrated energy value is less than a predetermined amount above a background level (see para. [0067]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective fling date of the instant application to modify Noble’s discharge feature amount acquisition unit in view of Qu to acquire an averaged voltage value over a sampling window of the detection spark discharge and compare the averaged value against a predetermined threshold to determine misfire when the averaged value is smaller than the threshold, in order to implement Noble’s misfire determination using a known averaged-signal comparison technique taught as improving the reliability of misfire detection from ignition coil derived signals, yielding predictable results.
Regarding claim 9, the claim recites “The combustion state detection device for the internal combustion engine according to Claim 1, wherein the discharge feature amount acquisition unit acquires a voltage change rate during a discharge period of the detection spark discharge based on the voltage value of the ignition coil, and the determination unit determines that the internal combustion engine is in the misfire state when the voltage change rate is smaller than a predetermined voltage change rate determination threshold value.”
Noble fails to teach acquiring a voltage change rate during a discharge period of the detection spark discharge and determining misfire when the voltage change rate is smaller than a predetermined voltage change rate determination threshold value.
Qu teaches analyzing a rate of change or slope of the voltage level of an ionization signal (see para. [0053]), and further teaches that a flat, near zero rate of change ionization waveform following spark discharge is indicative of a misfire condition (see paras. [0068] – [0071]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective fling date of the instant application to modify Noble’s discharge feature amount acquisition unit in view of Qu to acquire a voltage change rate of the ignition coil signal during the detection spark discharge and compare the voltage change rate against predetermined threshold to determine misfire when the voltage change rate is smaller than the threshold, in order to implement Noble’s misfire determination using a known signal slop based feature taught as indicative of combustion quality, yielding predictable results.
Regarding claim 10, the claim recites “The combustion state detection device for the internal combustion engine according to Claim 9, wherein the voltage change rate is an average value of a time differential value of the voltage during a predetermined averaging period of the detection spark discharge.”
Noble fails to teach the voltage change rate being an average value of a time differential value of the voltage during a predetermined averaging period.
Qu teaches processing signal characteristics including derivative or slope values and statistics such as mean or variability based on these values (see para. [0048]), and further teaches averaging these values over a sliding sample window of measurements to remove statistically random components (see para. [0049]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective fling date of the instant application to modify Noble’s in view of Qu to further calculate the voltage change rate as an average value of time differential value of the voltage over a predetermined averaging period, in order to implement Qu’s own taught technique of averaging derivative/slope values over a sample window to remove statistically random noise components, yielding a more reliable feature amount for misfire determination.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Noble in view of Kuroda (US 5,357,789 – hereafter “Kuroda”).
Regarding claim 12, the claim recites “The combustion state detection device for the internal combustion engine according to Claim 1, wherein the determination unit changes the predetermined determination threshold value according to the operating state of the internal combustion engine.”
Noble fails to teach changing the predetermined determination threshold value according to the operating state of the internal combustion engine.
Kuroda teaches raising a misfire detection reference level during specified operating conditions in which vapor lock is liable to occur, rather than maintaining a fixed reference level, so as to prevent an erroneous misfire determination under such conditions (see abstract, col. 6, ll. 1 – 17).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective fling date of the instant application to modify Noble’s determination unit in view of Kuroda to change the predetermined determination threshold value according to the operating state of the internal combustion engine, in order to prevent erroneous misfire determinations under operating conditions in which the underlying signal is known to be affected, as taught by Kuroda, yielding a more reliable misfire detection system.
Claim 22 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Noble in view of Miyata (US 5,400,760 – hereafter “Miyata”).
Regarding claim 22, the claim recites “The combustion state detection device for the internal combustion engine according to Claim 1 comprising: a discharge information detection unit which detects a voltage value or a current value of an ignition coil connected to the spark plug, wherein the discharge information detection unit detects a primary voltage value of the ignition coil.”
Noble fails to teach a discharge information detection unit that detects a primary voltage value of the ignition coil.
Miyata teaches a voltage divider circuit 53 which divides a voltage in a primary circuit of ignition coil 3, wherein a voltage across the electrodes of a spark plug is determined by detecting the voltage across the primary of the ignition coil such that a stable zero voltage of the voltage divider circuit is obtained, allowing the misfire distinction circuit to readily determine the misfire (see col. 9, ll. 6 – 9, 20 – 27).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective fling date of the instant application to modify Noble’s discharge feature amount acquisition unit in view of Kuroda to detect a primary voltage value of the ignition coil rather than a secondary voltage value, in order to obtain a stable zero voltage baseline that facilitates ready misfire determination, as taught by Miyata, yielding predictable results.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2 – 4, 6 – 8, 11, 13 – 16 and 18 – 21 are 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Manuel Castellon whose telephone number is (571)272-4575. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:00 am - 4:00 pm.
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, John Breene can be reached at 571-272-4107. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/MANUEL SALVADOR CASTELLON JR/Examiner, Art Unit 2855
/NATALIE HULS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2855
Prosecution Insights