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 § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 2, the phrase "preferably" renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitation(s) following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2173.05(d).
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.
Claims 1, 3, 6, 9, and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Air-Equipment CH 248925.
Regarding claims 1 and 10, Air-Equipment discloses an internal combustion engine (1) comprising: a plurality of cylinders (3), where respective pistons (4) slide on the inside; a crank chamber (6)[14] arranged higher than the cylinders (3); a crankshaft (5), which is arranged in the crank chamber (6) higher than the cylinders (3) and is connected to the pistons (4); a lubricating system (17) provided with an oil tank (18)[9], with a lubricating pump (19)[6], which draws from the oil tank (18), and with a series of lubricating devices (20), which receive oil from the lubricating pump (19) and supply oil to moving components; and a control unit (23)[FIG. 2-6] configured, when a command to turn off the internal combustion engine (1) is received, to interrupt the supply of oil to the lubricating devices (20) in advance with respect to the actual stopping of the rotation of the crankshaft (5). See FIG. 1 and page 1, line 1 – page 3, line 10.
Regarding claim 3, Air-Equipment discloses wherein the lubricating system (17) comprises a return duct (21), which originates from an opening (22) obtained through a wall of the crank chamber (6) and ends in the tank (18). See FIG. 1 and page 1, line 1 – page 3, line 10.
Regarding claim 6, Air-Equipment discloses wherein the lubricating devices (20) comprise piston jets, which directly send oil under pressure towards the pistons (4), main bearings and connecting rod bearings. See FIG. 1 and page 1, line 1 – page 3, line 10.
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.
Claims 2 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Air-Equipment.
Regarding claim 2, Air-Equipment fails to explicitly disclose wherein the control unit (23) is configured to interrupt the supply of oil to the lubricating devices (20) with an advance ranging from 0.5 to 2.5 seconds and preferably equal to approximately 1 second with respect to the actual stopping of the rotation of the crankshaft (5).
However, optimizing the timing of when the oil supply is interrupted is within the capability of one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Regarding claim 9, Air-Equipment fails to explicitly disclose wherein the control unit (23) is configured, when the command to turn off the internal combustion engine (1) is received, to not interrupt the supply of oil to the lubricating devices (20) in advance with respect to the actual stopping of the rotation of the crankshaft (5), if the command to turn off the internal combustion engine (1) was generated by the control unit (23).
While Air-Equipment fails to explicitly disclose the limitations in claim 9, the Examiner notes that the art typically, routinely, and conventionally does not interrupt the supply of oil when the internal combustion engine is turned off. Therefore, this feature would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Air-Equipment, as applied above, in view of Henri Farman et al GB 290287.
Regarding claim 4, Air-Equipment fails to explicitly disclose, but Henri Farman et al discloses wherein, in use, the rotation of the crankshaft (5) causes a rotary movement of the oil in the crank chamber (6), which causes the oil to flow into the opening (22) of the return duct (21) by centrifugal force. See FIG. 2 and claim 3.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the teachings of Henri Farman et al in the system of Air-Equipment to more efficiently circulate the oil in the system.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Air-Equipment, as applied above, in view of Hashimoto US 2018/0258804.
Regarding claim 5, Air-Equipment fails to explicitly disclose, but Hashimoto discloses wherein: the lubricating pump (19) has an adjustable displacement; and the control unit (23) is configured to minimize the actual displacement of the lubricating pump (19) so as to interrupt the supply of oil to the lubricating devices (20). See paragraphs [0258] and [0259].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the teachings of Hashimoto in the system of Air-Equipment to more accurately control the oil supply to the engine.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7 and 8 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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSEPH J DALLO whose telephone number is (313)446-4844. The examiner can normally be reached 7am-7pm ET M-Th.
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/JOSEPH J DALLO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3747
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