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 .
2. This Office Action is sent in response to Applicant's Communication received on December 04, 2024 for application number 18/968,233. This Office hereby acknowledges receipt of the following and placed of record in file: Specification, Drawings, Abstract, Oath/Declaration, and Claims.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on February 04, 2025 was submitted in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Priority
4. Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Applications No. JP2016-072274 and JP2016-072275 filed on March 31, 2016.
Disposition of Claims
Claims 1-8 are pending in this application.
Claims 1-8 are rejected.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-5 and 7-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by (Pierro - US 6,286,475 B1).
Regarding claim 1, Pierro discloses:
An engine device comprising:
a fuel feed pump (fuel pump 14: Pierro Examiner Annotated Figs. 1-3); and
a cylinder block (engine block 10: Pierro Examiner Annotated Figs. 1-3) that includes a rib (rib 18: Pierro Examiner Annotated Figs. 1-3),
wherein the rib (rib 18: Pierro Examiner Annotated Figs. 1-3) is disposed below the fuel feed pump (fuel pump 14: Pierro Examiner Annotated Figs. 1-3).
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Pierro Examiner Annotated Figs. 1-3
Regarding claim 2, Pierro disclose the engine device according to claim 1, and further on Pierro also discloses:
wherein the rib (rib 18: Pierro Examiner Annotated Figs. 1-3) is disposed at a position overlapping with the fuel feed pump (fuel pump 14: Pierro Examiner Annotated Figs. 1-3) in a plan view.
Regarding claim 3, Pierro disclose the engine device according to claim 1, and further on Pierro also discloses:
wherein the rib (rib 18: Pierro Examiner Annotated Figs. 1-3) is disposed on a right side of the cylinder block (engine block 10: Pierro Examiner Annotated Figs. 1-3).
Regarding claim 4, Pierro disclose the engine device according to claim 1, and further on Pierro also discloses:
wherein the rib (rib 18: Pierro Examiner Annotated Figs. 1-3) is connected to a front end of the cylinder block (engine block 10: Pierro Examiner Annotated Figs. 1-3), a rear end of the cylinder block (engine block 10: Pierro Examiner Annotated Figs. 1-3), or both.
Regarding claim 5, Pierro disclose the engine device according to claim 4, and further on Pierro also discloses:
wherein the front or rear end of the cylinder block (engine block 10: Pierro Examiner Annotated Figs. 1-3) is an end on a flywheel side of the cylinder block (engine block 10: Pierro Examiner Annotated Figs. 1-3).
Regarding claim 7, Pierro disclose the engine device according to claim 1, and further on Pierro also discloses:
wherein the rib (rib 18: Pierro Examiner Annotated Figs. 1-3) is disposed between a flywheel housing (Gears 37, 39 are fitted to these shafts that mesh with further gears driven by the engine crankshaft to transmit drive from the engine to the ancillary units: Fig. 2) and an oil cooler (adapter plates 30 and 32 are formed with projections 40 and 42 that can hold oil fed bushes or anti-friction bearings for supporting the shafts of the pumps 14 and 16: Fig. 2) in a plan view.
Regarding claim 8, Pierro disclose the engine device according to claim 1, and further on Pierro also discloses:
a plurality of ribs (reinforcement ribs 18 and 20: Pierro Examiner Annotated Figs. 1-3) including the rib (rib 18: Pierro Examiner Annotated Figs. 1-3), wherein the plurality of ribs (reinforcement ribs 18 and 20: Pierro Examiner Annotated Figs. 1-3) are provided in an up-down direction of the engine device.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or non-obviousness.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over (Pierro - US 6,286,475 B1), in view of (MOCHIDA - JP 2011-112014 A).
Regarding claim 6, Pierro disclose the engine device according to claim 1.
But Pierro does not explicitly show the following limitations:
(A) wherein the rib is disposed between a flywheel housing and an oil filter.
However, regarding limitations (A) above, MOCHIDA (Figs. 1-4) discloses:
A cylinder block structure for an engine device including:
a cylinder block (cylinder block 1: Figs. 1-4), wherein:
side surfaces (side surface 2 of the cylinder block 1 and the other side surface 3 of the cylinder block 1: Figs. 1-4) of the cylinder block (cylinder block 1: Figs. 1-4) have reinforcing ribs (first rib 12 and the second rib 13, Transverse ribs 16a, 16b and longitudinal ribs 17a, 17b, vertical reinforcing ribs 18a extending in the vertical direction are connected and vertical reinforcing ribs 18b extending in the vertical direction are connected; horizontal reinforcing ribs 19a extending in a straight line along the cylinder row direction (left and right direction in FIG. 3) are connected and horizontal reinforcing ribs 19b extending in a straight line along the cylinder row direction (left and right direction in FIG. 4) are connected: Figs. 1-4),
a plurality of mount attachment pedestals (engine mount attaching boss part 11 which have at least one-side engine mount mounting boss portion 11a and another side engine mount mounting boss portion 11b: Figs. 1-4) configured to attach to an engine mount (On one side surface 2 of the cylinder block 1, a one-side engine mount mounting boss portion 11a to which an engine mount bracket (not shown) is fixed, a one-side engine mount mounting boss portion 11a, and a front-end flange are provided. 7 is formed, and one side second rib 13a that connects the one side engine mount mounting boss 11a and the rear end flange 8 is formed: Figs. 1-4 and [0010]) are provided on the side surfaces (side surface 2 and side surface 3: Figs. 1-4) of the cylinder block (cylinder block 1: Figs. 1-4),
the engine mount (On one side surface 2 of the cylinder block 1, a one-side engine mount mounting boss portion 11a to which an engine mount bracket (not shown) is fixed, a one-side engine mount mounting boss portion 11a, and a front-end flange are provided. 7 is formed, and one side second rib 13a that connects the one side engine mount mounting boss 11a and the rear end flange 8 is formed: Figs. 1-4 and [0010]) is configured to couple the engine device to a vehicle body (Since a part of engine mount mounting boss part 11 is constituted by the oil pan rail 10, while suppressing a weight increase caused by providing a rib dedicated to the engine mount mounting boss part 11 in the cylinder block 1, Vibration transmitted from the internal combustion engine (cylinder block 1) to the vehicle body can be suppressed without making the engine mount mounting boss 11 thick: [0029]), and
the reinforcing ribs (first rib 12 (12a, 13b) and the second rib 13 (13a, 13b), Transverse ribs 16a, 16b and longitudinal ribs 17a, 17b, vertical reinforcing ribs 18a extending in the vertical direction are connected and vertical reinforcing ribs 18b extending in the vertical direction are connected; horizontal reinforcing ribs 19a extending in a straight line along the cylinder row direction (left and right direction in FIG. 3) are connected and horizontal reinforcing ribs 19b extending in a straight line along the cylinder row direction (left and right direction in FIG. 4) are connected: Figs. 1-4) are coupled to the side surfaces (side surface 2 and side surface 3: Figs. 1-4) of the cylinder block (cylinder block 1: Figs. 1-4) and to the plurality of mount attachment pedestals (engine mount attaching boss part 11 which have at least one-side engine mount mounting boss portion 11a and another side engine mount mounting boss portion 11b: Figs. 1-4).
Further on, one of the transverse direction ribs constituting the box shaped parts 21 to 23 is composed of an oil pan rail 10 disposed at a lower portion of the cylinder block 1. Transverse ribs 16a, 16b and longitudinal ribs 17a, 17b constituting the center box shaped part 22 constitute an engine mount attaching boss part 11. Thus, at least a part of the ribs constituting the box shaped parts 21 to 23 can also be used as the engine mount attaching boss part 11 and the oil pan rail 10.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have modified the engine device of Pierro providing the rib disposed between a flywheel housing and an oil filter as taught by MOCHIDA to install the engine cylinder block to a vehicle body using an optimum anti-vibration manner.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Ruben Picon-Feliciano whose telephone number is (571)-272-4938. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Thursday within 11:30 am-7:30 pm ET.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Lindsay M. Low can be reached on (571)272-1196. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/RUBEN PICON-FELICIANO/Examiner, Art Unit 3747
/GRANT MOUBRY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3747