CTNF 18/916,710 CTNF 88865 DETAILED ACTION 1. This action is in response to applicant's amendment received on 5/12/2026. Amended claim 1 is acknowledged and the following grounds of rejection below are maintained. Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114 07-42-04 AIA A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 5/12/2026 has been entered. Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia 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 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-15-aia AIA Claim(s) 1-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Hakeem et al. (U.S. Publication 2016/0102623), hereinafter “Hakeem” . Regarding claim 1, Hakeem discloses an internal combustion engine (10), comprising: an intake passage (140); a throttle valve (115) provided in the intake passage; a flow rate regulating valve (158) provided at a downstream side of the throttle valve in the intake passage (shown in figure 2); a first passage (252) that connects a crankcase to a section of the intake passage between the throttle valve and the flow rate regulating valve (shown in figure 2), fresh air being introduced into the crankcase via the first passage (paragraph 57 mentions the fresh air can be routed to crankcase); and a second passage (254) that connects the crankcase (255) to a section of the intake passage at a downstream side of the flow rate regulating valve (158, shown in figure 2), blow-by gas in the crankcase being drawn into the intake passage via the second passage (paragraph 41), wherein the first passage (252) is connected to the crankcase at a location (right side of crankcase 255) different from a location (left side of crankcase 255) at which the second passage (254) is connected to the crankcase (shown in figure 2). Regarding claim 2, Hakeem discloses the internal combustion engine according to claim 1, further comprising a controller (12) that adjusts an opening degree of the flow rate regulating valve (158), wherein the controller includes a processing circuitry configured to execute a process of adjusting the opening degree of the flow rate regulating valve based on at least one of an engine coolant temperature, an engine oil temperature, an engine rotation speed, and an opening degree of the throttle valve (paragraphs 14 and 19). Regarding claim 3, Hakeem discloses the internal combustion engine according to claim 2, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to execute a process of correcting the opening degree of the throttle valve (115) to suppress a change in an intake air amount that accompanies adjustment of the opening degree of the flow rate regulating valve (158, paragraph 19). Regarding claim 4, Hakeem discloses the internal combustion engine according to claim 1, wherein a fuel of the internal combustion engine is gas fuel (inherent for an internal combustion engine with crankcase gases) . Response to Arguments 07-37 AIA Applicant's arguments filed on 5/12/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues that Hakeem teaches a first PCV passage and a second PCV passage and that the present invention differs since the two passages have different functions (fresh air vs. crankcase gas). However, examiner notes that the claims do not provide additional detail about what is argued in the remarks. Reading with BRI, the first passage (252) of Hakeem still has the capability to allow fresh intake air gas into the crankcase since there is no check valve provided in passage (252). Since this passage has the capability to provide intake air into the crankcase, Hakeem still reads on the present claim. Examiner notes amending to include that only fresh intake gas in this passage I possible to go into the crankcase from the intake passage and that this passage does not have an oil separator allowing blowby gas from crankcase to go to the intake passage in order to overcome Hakeem . Conclusion 07-96 AIA 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 2/12/2026 Application/Control Number: 18/916,710 Page 2 Art Unit: 3747 Application/Control Number: 18/916,710 Page 3 Art Unit: 3747 Application/Control Number: 18/916,710 Page 4 Art Unit: 3747 Application/Control Number: 18/916,710 Page 5 Art Unit: 3747
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