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 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, 3-5, 8, 12, 16, and 18-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hakeem et al. (U.S. Publication 2018/0038294), hereinafter “Hakeem”.
Regarding claim 1, Hakeem discloses a liquid injection system (60) for an engine system, comprising: one or more processing circuits comprising one or more memory devices coupled to one or more processors, the one or more memory devices configured to store instructions thereon that, when executed by the one or more processors (paragraph 28), cause the one or more processors to: receive temperature information indicative of a temperature within an air intake (paragraph 28); receive humidity information indicative of an inlet air humidity at the air intake (paragraph 28); receive pressure information indicative of an air pressure within the air intake; determine a dew point temperature (condensation, paragraphs 39 and 46) limit based on the temperature information, the humidity information, and the pressure information; determine an exhaust emissions output (126, paragraph 23); determine a liquid flow rate based on the dew point temperature limit (paragraph 47), the liquid flow rate allowing for a reduction of the exhaust emissions output; and control at least one of a pump (62) or a valve (93) to provide the liquid flow rate (paragraph 26). Examiner notes that Hakeem mentions in paragraph 28 that all these sensors provide information to the controller (12) and the controller has the capability to control the valve (93) or the pump (62) to change the water flow rate based upon the dew point temperature limit from the temperature, humidity, and pressure information.
Regarding claim 3, Hakeem discloses the liquid injection system of claim 1, wherein the one or more memory devices are further configured to store instructions thereon that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: inhibit at least one of the pump or the valve from providing the liquid flow rate when one or more liquid injection conditions are not met (step 512 when no water is available step 510 or when the engine load condition is not met mentioned in paragraph 42 with the request of water being dependent on engine load); and allow at least one of the pump or the valve to provide the liquid flow rate when one or more liquid injection conditions are met (figure 5).
Regarding claim 4, Hakeem discloses the liquid injection system of claim 3, wherein the one or more liquid injection conditions include: an engine load greater than an engine load limit (paragraph 42); an engine speed greater than an engine speed limit (paragraph 42); and a NOx sensor dew point reached signal is received.
Regarding claim 5, Hakeem discloses the liquid injection system of claim 1, wherein the one or more memory devices are further configured to store instructions thereon that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: determine a condensation margin limit based on the dew point temperature limit (paragraphs 43 and 45); and determine the liquid flow rate based on the dew point temperature limit and the condensation margin limit (paragraph 47).
Regarding claim 8, Hakeem discloses the liquid injection system of claim 1, wherein the one or more memory devices are further configured to store instructions thereon that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: receive manifold temperature information indicative of a manifold temperature at a manifold; receive manifold pressure information indicative of a manifold pressure within the manifold; and determine the dew point temperature limit based on the temperature information, the humidity information, the pressure information, the manifold temperature information, and the manifold pressure information. These limitations are all mentioned in claim 1 and are repeated within claim 8 unless the applicant is referring to a manifold other than an intake manifold.
Regarding claim 12, Hakeem discloses the liquid injection system of claim 1, wherein the one or more memory devices are further configured to store instructions thereon that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: limit the liquid flow rate by a flow command upper limit (inherent that there is a flow command upper limit as the pump cannot provide a flow rate higher than the specific capability limits of the pump internals).
Regarding claim 16, Hakeem discloses the liquid injected engine system, comprising: a water manifold; a water tank (63); a water pump (62) fluidly coupled to the water tank; a water solenoid valve (93) selectively coupling a water injector nozzle (46) with the water pump; and a controller structured to: determine a dew point temperature limit based on temperature, pressure, and humidity information of the water manifold; determine a condensation margin limit based on the dew point temperature limit; determine a liquid flow rate based on the dew point temperature limit and the condensation margin limit; and control the water pump and the water solenoid valve to provide the liquid flow rate to the water injector nozzle. Refer to rejection of claim 1 for further rejection details since the limitations are similar.
Regarding claim 18, Hakeem discloses the method of controlling a liquid injection system for an engine, comprising: receiving temperature information indicative of a temperature within an air intake; receiving humidity information indicative of an inlet air humidity at the air intake; receiving pressure information indicative of an air pressure within the air intake; determining a dew point temperature limit based on the temperature information, the humidity information, and the pressure information; determining an exhaust emissions output; determining a liquid flow rate based on the dew point temperature limit, the liquid flow rate allowing for a reduction of the exhaust emissions output; and controlling at least one of a pump or a water solenoid valve to provide the liquid flow rate. Refer to rejection of claim 1 for further rejection details since the limitations are similar.
Regarding claim 19, Hakeem discloses the method of claim 18, further comprising: inhibiting the water pump and the water solenoid valve from providing the liquid flow rate when liquid injection conditions are not met; and allowing the water pump and the water solenoid valve to provide the liquid flow rate when liquid injection conditions are met, wherein the liquid injection conditions include: an engine load greater than an engine load limit; an engine speed greater than an engine speed limit; and a NOx sensor dew point reached signal from an NOx sensor (126) is received. Refer to rejection of claims 3-4 for further rejection details since the limitations are similar.
Regarding claim 20, Hakeem and Montinaro disclose the method of claim 19, further comprising displaying at least information from the NOx sensor on a human machine interface. Refer to rejection of claim 6 for further rejection details since the limitations are similar.
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) 6 and 9-11 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hakeem.
Regarding claim 6, Hakeem discloses the claimed invention such as determining the condensation margin limit, but is silent to disclose information entered by a user. It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to take into account information entered in by a user, since applicant has not disclosed that such an arrangement solves any stated problem or is for any particular purpose and it appears that the invention would perform equally well with user not having to enter in the information but instead using the sensors provided.
Regarding claim 9, Hakeem discloses the same invention substantially as claimed but is silent to disclose controlling the pump using a variable frequency drive. However, the examiner takes Official Notice that it is well known in the art to provide a variable frequency drive for a water pump for the purpose of allowing the water pump to operate at different speeds. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of when the invention was made to modify Hakeem by incorporating a variable frequency drive for the water pump for the purpose of allowing the water pump to operate at different speeds.
Regarding claims 10-11, Hakeem discloses the same invention substantially as claimed such as determining the condensation margin limit based on the dew point temperature limit and having a human machine interface displaying variables (paragraph 27), but is silent to disclose outputting the condensation margin limit variable and information relating to a pump motor revolution per minute value to a human machine interface. However, the examiner takes Official Notice that it is well known in the art to provide all the variables for the engine system on a human machine interface for the purpose of allowing the user to see all the sensed variables to ensure that all readings are within the desired range to determine a fault. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of when the invention was made to modify Hakeem by incorporating outputting the condensation margin limit variable and information relating to a pump motor revolution per minute value to a human machine interface for the purpose of allowing the user to see all the sensed variables to ensure that all readings are within the desired range to determine a fault.
Regarding claim 13, Hakeem disclose the same invention substantially as claimed except for a combination sensor reading the temperature, humidity, and pressure. However, the examiner takes Official Notice that it is well known in the art to provide a combination sensor reading temperature, humidity, and pressure for the purpose of reducing the amount of parts. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of when the invention was made to modify Hakeem by incorporating a combination sensor for the purpose of reducing the amount of parts.
Claim(s) 2, 7, 14-15, and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hakeem in view of Montinaro et al. (U.S. Publication 2018/0283295), hereinafter “Montinaro”.
Regarding claim 2, Hakeem discloses the same invention substantially as claimed but is silent to disclose using a NOx target. However, Montinaro teaches the use of using an NOx target to control a valve (paragraph 4) for the purpose of reducing emissions. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Hakeem by incorporating using a NOx target as taught by Mantinaro as an additional parameter within Hakeem’s controller system for the purpose of additionally reducing emissions. Examiner notes that Montinaro is brought herein as reference only to teach the NOx target. Hakeem’s controller (12) will take the NOx target into consideration when operating the water pump (62) and water injection valve (93).
Regarding claim 7, Hakeem and Montinaro disclose the liquid injection system of claim 5, wherein the one or more memory devices are further configured to store instructions thereon that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: receive a NOx target; and determine the condensation margin limit automatically based on the NOx target. Refer to rejection of claims 2 and 5 for further rejection details since the limitations are similar.
Regarding claim 14, Hakeem and Montinaro disclose the liquid injection system of claim 1, wherein the one or more memory devices are further configured to store instructions thereon that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: operate the liquid injection system in an automatic mode that automatically provides a NOx target; and maintain a closed loop NOx control including determining the liquid flow rate to achieve the NOx target. Refer to rejection of claims 2 and 5 for further rejection details since the limitations are similar. Examiner notes that the controller (12) of Hakeem handles everything automatically.
Regarding claim 15, Hakeem and Montinaro disclose the liquid injection system of claim 1, wherein the one or more memory devices are further configured to store instructions thereon that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: operate the liquid injection system in a manual mode that receives a NOx target manually entered by a user; and maintain a closed loop NOx control including determining the liquid flow rate to achieve the NOx target. Refer to rejection of claims 2 and 6 for further rejection details since the limitations are similar.
Regarding claim 17, Hakeem and Montinaro disclose the liquid injected engine system of claim 16, wherein the controller is further structured to: receive a NOx target; and determine the liquid flow rate based on the NOx target and a measured NOx output of the liquid injected engine system. Refer to rejection of claim 2 for further rejection details since the limitations are similar.
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 3/4/2026