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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1 and 3-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Smith et al. (US Pat No 11,415,040).
In regard to claim 1, Smith discloses a control device for an internal combustion engine (see Fig 1 and Col 3, lines 40-41: “The coolant system 10 is under the control of an electronic control module (ECM).”) that controls the internal combustion engine including a piston jet that injects lubricating oil onto a back surface of a piston (for example, see Col 4, lines 24-25: “When desired, a piston cooling jet solenoid opens to inject cooling jets of oil into the engine block 96.”) and a variable oil pump that changes a discharge amount of the lubricating oil per revolution (see Col 4, lines 19-21: “Engine oil is pump [sic] from the engine block 96 with a continuously variable displacement oil pump 16”), the control device comprising a processing circuit (Col 4, lines 24-31: “the ECM is a non-generalized, electronic control device having a preprogrammed digital computer or processor, memory or non-transitory computer readable medium used to store data such as control logic, software applications, instructions, computer code, data, lookup tables, etc., and a transceiver [or input/output ports]”),
wherein the processing circuit is configured to, when an oil temperature that is a temperature of the lubricating oil is lower than a predetermined temperature, close a solenoid valve provided on a supply path of the lubricating oil to the piston jet to stop injection of the lubricating oil from the piston jet, and
See Col 2, lines 19-23 (emphasis added): “deciding if a piston temperature is above a PM generation threshold when the current lube oil temperature is lower than the optimal temperature, wherein if the piston temperature is not above the PM generation threshold, the piston cooling jets are turned off”.
Also see Col 4, lines 24-25 (emphasis added): “When desired, a piston cooling jet solenoid opens to inject cooling jets of oil into the engine block 96.”.
maintain the discharge amount of the lubricating oil discharged from the variable oil pump at a predetermined amount or more while the injection of the lubricating oil from the piston jet is stopped.
See Col 4, lines 17-25 (emphasis added): “The engine oil heat exchanger 88 is in fluid communication with the cylinder heads 92 through cam phaser intake 30 and a cam phaser exhaust 31. Engine oil is pump [sic] from the engine block 96 with a continuously variable displacement oil pump 16 to the engine oil heat exchanger 88. A temperature sensor 56 and a redundant temperature sensor 57 monitor the temperature of the engine oil from engine block 96. When desired, a piston cooling jet solenoid opens to inject cooling jets of oil into the engine block 96.”.
In other words, variable displacement pump 16 operates at a level to supply the cam phasers with oil (considered to be a “predetermined amount” as broadly claimed), regardless if the solenoid is open or closed (i.e., if the piston cooling jets are operating or not).
In regard to claim 3, Smith discloses the device of claim 1,
wherein the processing circuit is configured to, when the oil temperature is equal to or higher than the predetermined temperature, open the solenoid valve to inject the lubricating oil from the piston jet and
See
Also see Col 4, lines 24-25 (emphasis added): “When desired, a piston cooling jet solenoid opens to inject cooling jets of oil into the engine block 96.”.
control the discharge amount of the lubricating oil from the variable oil pump to a discharge amount corresponding to a demand oil pressure that fluctuates.
See Col 4, lines 17-25 (emphasis added): “The engine oil heat exchanger 88 is in fluid communication with the cylinder heads 92 through cam phaser intake 30 and a cam phaser exhaust 31. Engine oil is pump [sic] from the engine block 96 with a continuously variable displacement oil pump 16 to the engine oil heat exchanger 88. A temperature sensor 56 and a redundant temperature sensor 57 monitor the temperature of the engine oil from engine block 96. When desired, a piston cooling jet solenoid opens to inject cooling jets of oil into the engine block 96.”.
In other words, variable displacement pump 16 operates at a level to supply the cam phasers with oil (considered to be a “a discharge amount corresponding to a demand oil pressure” as broadly claimed), regardless if the solenoid is open or closed (i.e., if the piston cooling jets are operating or not).
In regard to claim 4, Smith discloses the device of claim 1, wherein the processing circuit uses, as the oil temperature, a measurement temperature of an oil temperature sensor that measures a temperature of the lubricating oil and is provided for the internal combustion engine (see Col 4, lines 21-24: “A temperature sensor 56 and a redundant temperature sensor 57 monitor the temperature of the engine oil from engine block 96.”).
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 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Smith et al. (US Pat No 11,415,040) in view of Zwickler (US Pub No 2011/0266090).
In regard to claim 5,
Smith discloses the device of claim 1.
Smith does not positively disclose wherein the processing circuit is configured to estimate the oil temperature based on a measurement temperature of a water temperature sensor that measures a temperature of coolant and is provided for the internal combustion engine.
However, such practices are well known in the art.
Zwickler discloses an engine oil system (see the Abstract). Most importantly, Zwickler teaches that (Paragraph 0008, emphasis added): “Conventional automobile engines provide no sensors for detecting the oil temperature but measured values of a coolant water temperature sensor usually provided can readily be used to estimate the oil temperature.”
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to configure the device of Smith with a water temperature sensor to estimate the engine oil temperature, as is conventionally done, as taught by Zwickler.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 2 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but appears it would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
In regard to claim 2, Examiner notes the following limitation: “wherein the processing circuit is configured to, when the oil temperature is lower than the predetermined temperature, maximize the discharge amount from the variable oil pump”.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Bidner et al. (US Pub No 2015/0275713). Examiner notes especially Fig 3. The system of Bidner operates similarly as the device of the instant application, but utilizes a high-pressure pump and a low-pressure pump in concert as opposed to a variable pump.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JACOB M AMICK whose telephone number is (571)272-5790. The examiner can normally be reached Core Hours 10-6 M-F (First Fridays Off).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Lindsay Low can be reached at (571) 272-1196. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JACOB M AMICK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3747
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