DETAILED ACTION
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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 8 and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Eriksson et al. (WO 2022/258875 A1), hereafter Eriksson.
Regarding claims 1, 2, 3, 8 and 10 Eriksson discloses a system (Fig. 1) comprising an engine (1) operable with a fuel containing hydrogen (pg. 6, line 5-7), the system comprising: a crankcase (4) of the engine; an engine intake passage (6) through which air is suctioned into the engine; a crankcase intake passage (8) that branches from the engine intake passage and through which the air is introduced into the crankcase; a dilution air valve (9) disposed in the crankcase intake passage and configured to open and close the crankcase intake passage; a compressor (3a) disposed upstream of a branch portion at which the crankcase intake passage branches from the engine intake passage; a hydrogen sensor (17) configured to detect hydrogen concentration inside the crankcase; a crankcase exhaust passage (10) through which the air inside the crankcase is discharged; and a control device (16) configured to control opening and closing of the dilution air valve based on the hydrogen concentration detected by the hydrogen sensor (pg. 8, line 15-34);
wherein when the hydrogen concentration detected by the hydrogen sensor reaches a threshold value or higher, the control device performs control to open the dilution air valve to a predetermined degree or more (pg. 9, line 24-33); and, wherein the crankcase exhaust passage is exposed to the atmosphere (pg. 3, line 28-29).
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.
Claim(s) 4, 5, 7, 11, 12 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Eriksson et al. (WO 2022/258875 A1), in view of Yuki (JP 2019007396 A), hereafter Yuki.
Regarding claims 4, 5, 7, 11, 12 and 14, Eriksson does not disclose the crankcase exhaust passage connected to an upstream side of the compressor;
further comprising: a return passage that branches from the crankcase exhaust passage and through which the air inside the crankcase is returned to an upstream side of the compressor; and a switching valve disposed at a branch portion at which the return passage branches from the crankcase exhaust passage and configured to switch between a first path through which the crankcase exhaust passage is exposed to the atmosphere and a second path through which the crankcase exhaust passage connects to the return passage; and,
further comprising a filter disposed in the crankcase exhaust passage.
Yuki discloses an engine (1) having a crankcase exhaust passage (10) connected to an upstream side of the compressor (C1, C2); and a switching valve (15) disposed at a branch portion at which the return passage branches from the crankcase exhaust passage and configured to switch between a first path through which the crankcase exhaust passage is exposed to the atmosphere and a second path through which the crankcase exhaust passage connects to the return passage (Fig. 1); and, a filter (11) disposed in the crankcase exhaust passage. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the exhaust passages with a filter of Yuki in the engine of Eriksson so that unburned components and the like contained therein are appropriately processed.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6, 9 and 13 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
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/TEUTA HOLBROOK/
Examiner
Art Unit 3747
/GEORGE C JIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3747
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