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) 1-5, 8, and 12-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Suehiro et al (US 5,010,854).
Regarding claims 1, Suehiro discloses an air intake system for a vehicle having an engine that produces engine vibrations (Title and Fig. 4, shown), the air intake system comprising:
an air plenum 4 5 including a first air discharge port (Fig. 4, shown collectos having discharge ports 11 17);
an air runner assembly 35 36 coupled to the engine, the air runner assembly including a first air inlet port (Fig. 4, shown runners 35 6); and
a first annular cuff 42 43 having an upstream end coupled to the first air discharge port and a downstream end coupled to the first air inlet port (Fig. 4, cuff 42 43 shown between plenums 4 5 and the intake pipes 35 36), the first annular cuff providing fluid communication between the first air discharge port and the first air inlet port (Fig. 4, shown cuffs 42 43 shown facilitating fluid flow through them), the first annular cuff configured to inhibit engine vibrations from transferring to the air plenum from the air runner assembly (Col. 7, Lns. 51-56, the rubber cuffs absorb vibrations/distortions).
Regarding claim 2, Suehiro discloses the air intake system as recited in claim 1 further comprising a plurality of annular cuffs including the first annular cuff; wherein, the air plenum further comprises a plurality of air discharge ports including the first air discharge port; wherein, the air runner assembly further comprises a plurality of air inlet ports including the first air inlet port; and wherein, each of the annular cuffs provides fluid communication between one of the air discharge ports and one of the air inlet ports and is configured to inhibit engine vibrations from transferring to the air plenum from the air runner assembly (Fig. 3, each of the plenums includes a plurality of runners and a plurality of rubber cuffs between a plurality of the runners and the plenum).
Regarding claim 3, Suehiro discloses the air intake system as recited in claim 1 wherein the air runner assembly is rigidly coupled to the engine (Figs. 2-4, the air pipes attach to the engine rigidly by flanges 39 40).
Regarding claim 4, Suehiro discloses the air intake system as recited in claim 1 wherein the first annular cuff has an internal surface defining an annular internal divider that is interposed between the first air discharge port and the first air inlet port, the annular internal divider configured to inhibit engine vibrations from transferring to the air plenum from the air runner assembly (Fig. 4, shown rubber cuffs 42 43 with a central line showing a dividing portion).
Regarding claim 5, Suehiro discloses the air intake system as recited in claim 4 wherein the annular internal divider prevents contact between the first air discharge port and the first air inlet port. (Fig. 2 and 4, the plenum and pipes are shown not in contact due to the rubber cuff 42 43).
Regarding claim 8, Suehiro discloses the air intake system as recited in claim 1 wherein the first annular cuff has a sealing relationship with the first air discharge port and the first air inlet port (Fig. 2 and 4, Col. 7, Lns. 54-56, the rubber cuffs seal the portions and aid the seals elsewhere).
Regarding claim 12, Suehiro discloses the air intake system as recited in claim 1 wherein the first annular cuff further comprises an elastomeric material (Col. 7, Ln. 51, the cuff is rubber).
Regarding claim 13, Suehiro discloses the air intake system as recited in claim 1 wherein the first annular cuff is a monolithic, closed-loop component (Fig. 2 and 4, the cuffs are shown as monolithic rubber components).
Regarding claim 14, Suehiro discloses the air intake system as recited in claim 1 further comprising a throttle body coupled to the air plenum, the throttle body configured to control a volume of air entering the engine (Fig. 3 a throttle chamber 54 is shown with throttle valves 56 connected to the plenum 4 5).
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) 15-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Suehiro.
Regarding claims 15 and 19-20, Suehiro discloses the limitations of claim 15 as they are applied in claim 1 above, but fails to disclose the engine being within a vehicle and on a vehicle chassis, the vehicle being a snowmobile.
However, the inclusion of engines on snowmobile chassis is sufficiently old and well-known in the art for examiner to take official notice that the inclusion of the engine of Suehiro on a snowbole chassis would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the invention because it would have allowed for producing power for propelling and operating the vehicle.
Regarding claims 16 and 18, the modified Seuhiro discloses the vehicle as recited in claim 15, but fails to disclose comprising a turbocharger in fluid communication with the air plenum, the turbocharger configured to compress air for delivery to the engine; and fails to disclose the system further comprising an intercooler positioned between the turbocharger and the throttle body, the intercooler configured to cool compressed air from the turbocharger.
However, the inclusion of turbochargers (or blowers/superchargers) with intercooler within an internal combustion engine system are sufficiently old and well-known in the art for examiner to take official notice that the inclusion of a turbocharger and intercooler on the engine of Suehiro would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the invention because turbochargers allow for improved engine efficiency while improving engine power output without significant increases to weight and size, wherein intercooled turbochargers particularly improve efficiency and performance.
Regarding claim 17, the modified Suehiro discloses the vehicle as recited in claim 16 further comprising a throttle body coupled to the air plenum, the throttle body configured to control a volume of compressed air from the turbocharger entering the engine (Fig. 3, the throttle body 56 controls airflow through the plenums/engine intake).
Claim(s) 6-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Suehiro.
Regarding claims 6-7, Suehiro discloses the air intake system as recited in claim 4, but fails to disclose wherein the annular internal divider has a width of between five millimeter and six millimeters.
However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to size the annular divider to between 5 mm and 6 mm since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233. Further, It would have been an obvious matter since such a modification would have involved a mere change in the size of a component. A change in size is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. In re Rose, 105 USPQ 237 (CCPA 1955).
In this case, the prior art disclose the general conditions of an intake pipe with an annular divider, but does not disclose the specific sizes of the particular engine or pipes, wherein these particular sizes are open to engine design choice for particular usages and through routine experimentation, wherein the specific gap for the annular divider would therefore simply entail routine experimentation based on the intended use and size of the engine.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 9-11 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the closest prior art fails to disclose or make obvious wherein the first annular cuff has an internal surface defining an upstream annular positioning ridge and a downstream annular positioning ridge; wherein, the first air discharge port defines an annular groove configured to receive the upstream positioning ridge to securely position the first annular cuff relative to the first air discharge port; and wherein, the first air inlet port defines an annular groove configured to receive the downstream positioning ridge to securely position the first annular cuff relative to the first air inlet port.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Watanabe (US 6,516,768) disclose an engine making use of cuffs 350 between the engine and the plenum (Fig. 7, shown). Fukui et al (US 10,519,902) discloses an engine having an intake manifold with an upstream portion 31 that connects to an elastomeric portion 51L and then to runners 41lL (Fig. 2, shown).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KEVIN A LATHERS whose telephone number is (571)272-1050. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10a-6p.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Lindsay Low can be reached at 5712721196. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KEVIN A LATHERS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3747
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