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 under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “the ventilation port is placed at a lower end of the liner support wall” from claim 2 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
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.
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.
Claim(s) 1, and 3-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Christian et al. (U.S. Patent 9,909,470), hereinafter “Christian” in view of Monros (U.S. Publication 2014/0207360), hereinafter “Monros”.
Regarding claim 1, Christian discloses the same invention substantially as claimed such as an engine system, the engine system (41) comprising: a cylinder block including a cylinder row consisting of a plurality of cylinders (column 3, lines 32-39); a crank chamber (42) located below the plurality of cylinders (shown in figure 2); and a ventilation port (port for 52 connected to crank chamber 42) connected to a ventilation passage (52) that connects an internal space of the cylinder block and an external space (the connection of 52 to the intake manifold 50 is considered external to the block) of the cylinder block, wherein the ventilation port is placed above a lower end of the cylinder (shown in figure 2), but does not disclose the engine system having blow-by gas with a specific gravity less than 1 with reference to air being generatable. However, Monros teaches the use of and engine system generating blowby gas with a specific gravity less than 1 since multiple fuel like hydrogen can be used within the same engine (paragraph 35) for the purpose of providing an engine to use different types of fuel to allow for flexibility for engine operation. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Christian by incorporating using a different fuel such as hydrogen that generated a blowby gas with a specific gravity less than 1 as taught by Monros for the purpose of providing an engine to use different types of fuel to allow for flexibility for engine operation.
Regarding claim 3, Christian and Monros disclose the engine system according to claim 1, wherein the cylinder block includes multiple cylinders of the plurality of cylinders arranged in an output axis direction between a first end of the cylinder block and a second end of the cylinder block (Christian, column 3, lines 32-39), the multiple cylinders include a first cylinder positioned at the first end and a second cylinder positioned at the second end in the output axis direction (with a multiple cylinder engine there is at least a first and second cylinder), the ventilation port is placed at a position that corresponds to the first cylinder (Christian, figure 2 shows the first cylinder).
Regarding claim 4, Christian and Monros disclose the engine system according to claim 1, wherein in an output axis direction along a rotational axis of a crankshaft placed in the crank chamber (Christian, shown in figure 2), the ventilation port (Christian, port for 52) and a gas introduction port (Christian, port of 51 entering into 42) are placed at positions different from each other (Christian, shown in figure 2).
Regarding claim 5, Christian and Monros disclose the claimed invention but is silent to disclose the gas introduction port being placed at a position that corresponds to the second cylinder. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of when the invention was made to have the gas introduction port be placed at a position that corresponds to the second cylinder, since it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70. Examiner notes that Christian mentioned multiple cylinders, but does not show the multiple cylinders in the figures. Nevertheless, it would be obvious to provide different locations for the different supply port and discharge port.
Regarding claim 6, Christian and Monros disclose the engine system according to claim 1, wherein an airflow forming section (52 and 58) is placed on the ventilation port side (Christian, 46 to 52 to 58 allows for an air flowing section of compressed air from turbocharger 46, as shown in figure 3).
Claim(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Christian and Monros as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Highum (U.S. Publication 2008/0314353), hereinafter “Highum”.
Regarding claim 2, Christian and Monros disclose the same invention substantially as claimed such as wherein the cylinder block has a support wall configured to support a cylinder constituting the cylinder, a lower end of the cylinder protrudes downward from a lower end of the wall, but does not disclose a cylinder liner that extends past the lower end of the liner support wall and the ventilation port being placed at the lower end of the liner support wall. However, Highum teaches the use of cylinder liner (15) being provided while being supported from a liner support wall and the liner extending past the lower end of the liner support wall for the purpose of providing a crucial combustion seal, offering superior heat dissipation, and allowing for easier, cost-effective maintenance. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide a cylinder liner that extend past the lower end of a liner support wall as taught by Highum for the purpose of providing a crucial combustion seal, offering superior heat dissipation, and allowing for easier, cost-effective maintenance.
Christian, Monros, and Highum disclose the claimed invention except for the ventilation port being placed at the lower end of the liner support wall. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of when the invention was made to have the ventilation port be at the lower end of the liner support wall, since it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Refer to PTO-892.
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/SYED O HASAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3747 1/21/2026