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 § 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 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 nonobviousness.
Claims 1, 3, 5, and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Eisfelder et al (US 2013/0004339 hereinafter “Eisfelder”) in view of Hoban et al (US 10,001,120 hereinafter “Hoban”).
In regards to claim 1:
Eisfelder teaches an air compressor (1) comprising: a cylinder block including a crankcase (10) and a cylinder portion (2) of a plurality of cylinders (Paragraph [0062] recites “the compressed air compressor 1, which may be designed as a single-cylinder or multicylinder compressed air compressor”); a cylinder head that covers the cylinder block; a crankshaft (103) that is supported in the crankcase; a piston (3) that is configured to reciprocate in the cylinder portion (2) by the crankshaft (103) to suck air and compress and discharge the sucked air (via inlet valve 16 and outlet valve 17).
Eisfelder does not teach a first rib that is provided on an outer wall of the cylinder block, that extends in a direction along a direction in which the piston reciprocates, that protrudes in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the piston reciprocates, and that is configured to suppress vibration of the cylinder block.
Hoban teaches a rib that is provided on an outer wall of a cylinder block that extends along a direction in which a piston reciprocates, that protrudes in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the piston reciprocates.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing of the application for the outer wall of the cylinder block of Eisfelder to have a rib as taught by Hoban in order to provide structural support for the cylinder block. Ribs are known in the art to add strength and add surface area to aid in cooling.
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Annotated Figure 1 of Hoban
In regards to claim 3:
Eisfelder as modified teaches a second rib that is provided on an outer wall of the crankcase, that protrudes in a radial direction from a central axis of the crankshaft and that is configured to suppress vibration of the crankcase (Shown above in annotated Figure 1 of Hoban).
In regards to claim 5:
Eisfelder as modified teaches a third rib that is provided on an outer wall of the crankcase, and that is continuous with the first rib (Shown above in annotated Figure 1 of Hoban).
In regards to claim 7:
Eisfelder as modified teaches a second rib that is provided on an outer wall of the crankcase, that protrudes in a radial direction from a central axis of the crankshaft and that is configured to suppress vibration of the crankcase, a third rib that is provided on the outer wall of the crankcase, and that is continuous with the first rib, and a fourth rib that is provided on the outer wall of the crankcase, and that intersects with the second rib and the third rib (Shown above in annotated Figure 1 of Hoban).
Claims 2, 4, and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Eisfelder and Hoban as applied to claims 1, 3, and 5 above respectively, and further in view of Ishikawa (US 2008/0245320).
In regards to claim 2:
Eisfelder does not teach a height of the first rib is larger than a width of the first rib.
Ishikawa teaches a rib having a height larger than a width.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing of the application for the rib of Eisfelder as modified to have a height larger than a width as taught by Ishikawa in order to increase the rigidity in the plane of the height. Increasing the height of ribs further increases the surface area of the rib away from the heat source.
In regards to claim 4:
Eisfelder does not teach a height of the second rib is larger than a width of the first rib.
Ishikawa teaches a rib having a height larger than a width.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing of the application for the rib of Eisfelder as modified to have a height larger than a width as taught by Ishikawa in order to increase the rigidity in the plane of the height. Increasing the height of ribs further increases the surface area of the rib away from the heat source.
In regards to claim 6:
Eisfelder does not teach a height of the third rib is larger than a width of the first rib.
Ishikawa teaches a rib having a height larger than a width.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing of the application for the rib of Eisfelder as modified to have a height larger than a width as taught by Ishikawa in order to increase the rigidity in the plane of the height. Increasing the height of ribs further increases the surface area of the rib away from the heat source.
Claims 8 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Eisfelder and Hoban as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Pruitt, III et al (US 2023/0332536 hereinafter “Pruitt”).
In regards to claim 8:
Eisfelder teaches an internal combustion engine assembly comprising: the air compressor according to claim 1; and an internal combustion engine (101), but does not teach a block-shaped bracket that fixes an outer peripheral surface of the crankcase of the air compressor to the internal combustion engine.
Pruitt teaches a block shaped bracket (5) that fixes an outer peripheral surface of the crankcase of an air compressor (3) to an internal combustion engine.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing of the application to have a bracket fixing the air compressor of Eisfelder to the engine as taught by Pruitt in order to affix the air compressor to the engine in a proper position (Paragraph [0020] of Pruitt).
In regards to claim 9:
Eisfelder teaches a vehicle (100) comprising: the internal combustion engine assembly according to claim 8.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAMES JAY KIM whose telephone number is (571)270-7610. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5 EST.
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/JAMES J KIM/Examiner, Art Unit 3747 /LOGAN M KRAFT/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3747
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