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 Objections
Claim 2 is objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 2 should recite “initial time moment, and [[an]] a time interval”. 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, 10, and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wakahara (JP 3956663), hereinafter “Wakahara”.
Regarding claim 1, Wakahara discloses a method for predicting a temperature of a cooling system of an engine (paragraph 1), comprising: obtaining a first temperature (Thwst) of the cooling system of the engine at an initial time moment (engine start up, paragraph 29), operating condition parameters of the engine (engine speed, intake pipe pressure, vehicle speed, outside temperature, etc., paragraphs 25 and 40) and a target time moment (Kt), wherein the cooling system includes at least a cooling water, an inner cylinder wall and an outer cylinder wall (paragraph 4); and obtaining a target temperature (Te) of the cooling system of the engine at the target time moment (Kt) according to the first temperature and the operating condition parameters of the engine (paragraph 25). Examiner notes that claim 1 is broad and does not provide additional structure as to when the initial time moment is or what the target time moment is. Wakahara performs these estimations during a fuel cut mode and still reads on broad claim 1.
Regarding claim 10, Wakahara discloses a device for predicting a temperature of a cooling system of an engine, comprising: a processor and a memory storing computer program instructions (programmed within ECU 24) which, when executed by the processor, the processor implements a method for predicting the temperature of the cooling system of the engine, wherein the method comprises: obtaining a first temperature of the cooling system of the engine at an initial time moment, operating condition parameters of the engine, and a target time moment, wherein the cooling system includes at least a cooling water, an inner cylinder wall and an outer cylinder wall; and obtaining a target temperature of the cooling system of the engine at the target time moment according to the first temperature and the operating condition parameters of the engine. Refer to the rejections of claim 1 for further details since the limitations are similar.
Regarding claim 11, Wakahara discloses a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing computer program instructions which, when executed by a processor (implemented by ECU 24), cause the processor to implement a method for predicting a temperature of a cooling system of an engine, wherein the method comprises: obtaining a first temperature of the cooling system of the engine at an initial time moment, operating condition parameters of the engine, and a target time moment, wherein the cooling system includes at least a cooling water, an inner cylinder wall and an outer cylinder wall; and obtaining a target temperature of the cooling system of the engine at the target time moment according to the first temperature and the operating condition parameters of the engine. Refer to the rejections of claim 1 for further details since the limitations are similar.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-8 and 15-24 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: No prior art teaches all the limitations of claims 2, 15, or 22, but more specifically, the method of obtaining the target temperature at a target time moment includes determining i unit of time steps, performing i iterations calculations, and the specific relations formulas used for each of the i iteration calculations mentioned.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Refer to PTO-892.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SYED O HASAN whose telephone number is (571)272-0990. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday; 11AM-7PM.
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, Lindsay Low can be reached at (571) 272-1196. 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.
/SYED O HASAN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3747 2/5/2026
Prosecution Insights