DETAILED ACTION
This Non-Final Office Action is in response to the claims filed on 10/15/2025.
Claims 1-4 are currently pending.
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 1 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.
Claim 1 recites the limitation " a first end of the high-pressure EGR passage is connected to a section of the exhaust passage upstream of the turbine,
a second end of the high-pressure EGR passage is connected to a section of the intake passage downstream of the compressor,". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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.
(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 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tomomi et al. (JP 5741032).
As to claim 1 Tomomi discloses an exhaust gas recirculation system (figure 1) configured to be provided in an internal combustion engine (10) including a cylinder (11),
an intake passage (32) through which air introduced into the cylinder flows,
an exhaust passage (42) through which exhaust gas discharged from the cylinder flows, and
a forced-induction device (15) that compresses the air flowing through the intake passage, wherein
the forced-induction device includes a turbine (15b) provided in the exhaust passage and a compressor (15a) provided in the intake passage and operates in synchronization with the turbine,
the exhaust gas recirculation system comprises:
a high-pressure EGR device (62) that recirculates exhaust gas flowing through the exhaust passage to the intake passage as high-pressure EGR gas;
a low-pressure EGR device (72) that recirculates exhaust gas flowing through the exhaust passage to the intake passage as low-pressure EGR gas; and
a controller (50) configured to control the high-pressure EGR device and the low-pressure EGR device so as to adjust a recirculation amount of the high-pressure EGR gas and a recirculation amount of the low-pressure EGR gas, the high-pressure EGR device includes a high-pressure EGR passage (page 5 1st paragraph),
a first end of the high-pressure EGR passage (61) is connected to a section of the exhaust passage upstream of the turbine (15b),
a second end of the high-pressure EGR passage (61) is connected to a section of the intake passage downstream of the compressor (15a),
the low-pressure EGR device (72) includes a low-pressure EGR passage (71) and a cooling device (73),
a first end of the low-pressure EGR passage (71) is connected to a section of the exhaust passage downstream of the turbine (15b),
a second end of the low-pressure EGR passage (71) is connected to a section of the intake passage upstream of the compressor (15a),
the cooling device cools the low-pressure EGR gas flowing through the low- pressure EGR passage, and
the controller is configured to
identify an operating region of the internal combustion engine based on an output torque (figure 2 #101) and an engine rotation speed (figure 2 #103) of the internal combustion engine;
calculate a residual amount that is an estimated value of an amount of condensed water remaining in the low-pressure EGR passage; and
when the residual amount is greater than a determination value corresponding to the operating region, operate the low-pressure EGR device so as to reduce the recirculation amount of the low-pressure EGR gas.
(page 10 2nd paragraph)
Thus, in the exhaust gas recirculation system of the present embodiment, when the amount of condensed water exceeds the reference water amount, the amount of condensed water generated relative to the HPL-EGR device 16 increases relative to the exhaust gas recirculation amount of the LPL-EGR device 17. (LP flow rate) is reduced compared to when the amount of condensed water does not exceed the reference water amount, while the exhaust gas recirculation amount (HP flow rate) of the HPL-EGR device 16 is increased compared to when the condensed water amount does not exceed the reference water amount. Therefore, the amount of condensed water generated can be reduced as the exhaust gas recirculation amount in the LPL-EGR device 17 decreases, and the Nox reduction effect decreases as the exhaust gas recirculation amount decreases in the LPL-EGR device 17. Can be suppressed by increasing the exhaust gas recirculation amount in the HPL-EGR device 16.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-4 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 SHERMAN D MANLEY whose telephone number is (571)270-5539. The examiner can normally be reached M-TH 7-5:30 est.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Logan Kraft can be reached at 571-270-5065. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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SHERMAN D. MANLEY
Examiner
Art Unit 3747
/SHERMAN D MANLEY/Examiner, Art Unit 3747
/LOGAN M KRAFT/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3747
