Patent Application 18730297 - SCR SYSTEM AND ENGINE

Title: SCR SYSTEM AND ENGINE

Application Information

Invention Title: SCR SYSTEM AND ENGINE
Application Number: 18730297
Submission Date: 2025-04-08T00:00:00.000Z
Effective Filing Date: 2024-07-18T00:00:00.000Z
Filing Date: 2024-07-18T00:00:00.000Z
Examiner Employee Number: 75470
Art Unit: 3746
Tech Center: 3700

Rejection Summary

102 Rejections: 1
103 Rejections: 0

Cited Patents

The following patents were cited in the rejection:

Office Action Text

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
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, 5-8, and 10-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Golin (Patent/Publication Number US 2019/0101037).
Regarding claims 1, and 10, Golin discloses an engine (12) comprising: an SCR system (22), comprising a box body (20, 362), a urea nozzle (28) and a mixer (20, 360, 360a, 360b) (See Figures 1-2 and 27-33), wherein the mixer is arranged inside the box body (362, 362a, 362b), and the mixer is of a cylinder shape (e.g. See Paragraphs [0109-0113]); a first end of the mixer faces the urea nozzle, and a second end of the mixer is configured to discharge a mixed gas (e.g. See Paragraphs [0109] FIGS. 27-33 show additional examples of inner housings and mixer assemblies having inner housings. Referring to FIG. 27, a mixer assembly 360 is provided. The mixer assembly 360 includes an outer housing 362, an inner housing 364. The inner housing 364 includes a mesh portion 366 and a non-mesh portion 368. The mesh portion 366 includes a first plurality of openings 370 and the non-mesh portion 368 includes a second plurality of openings 372. The non-mesh portion 368 also includes a plurality of deflectors 374, each deflector 374 being associated with a respective opening 372 of the second plurality. The deflectors 374 extend radially-inward toward an interior of the inner housing 364. The inner housing also includes a swirling mechanism 376.) (e.g. See Figures 1-2 and 27-33; Paragraphs [0109-0113]); the mixer comprises a baffle ring (e.g. 364d-364f, a swirl tube (372f, 382d, 382e) and a perforated tube (366d, 386f, 370) that are connected in sequence, and the baffle ring is arranged close to the urea nozzle (e.g. See Paragraphs [0113] Referring now to FIG. 31, an inner housing 364d for another mixer assembly is provided. The inner housing 364d includes a mesh portion 366d and a non-mesh portion 368d. The mesh portion 366d includes a first plurality of openings 370d and the non-mesh portion 368d includes a second plurality of openings 372d. The non-mesh portion 368d also includes a plurality of blades 382d, each blade 382d being associated with a respective opening 372d of the second plurality. The blades 382d extend radially-outward. The non-mesh portion 368d also includes a third plurality of openings or scavenging holes 384d. The second and third pluralities of openings 372d, 384d have distinct shapes.) (e.g. See Figures 31-33; Paragraphs [0113-0115]); the baffle ring is provided with a plurality of first through holes (384d, 384f), the swirl tube is provided with a plurality of second through holes (372d, 372f), and the perforated tube is provided with a plurality of third through holes (386f, 384e, 370f); and the mixer comprises an annular baffle (e.g. located at the end of the mixing tube in Figure 27-28) (376, 360a), an inner circumference of the annular baffle (364) is connected to an outer wall of the swirl tube and/or an outer wall of the perforated tube, and an outer circumference of the annular baffle is connected to an inner wall of the box body (20, 362) (e.g. See Paragraphs [0110] With reference to FIG. 28, another mixer assembly 360a is provided. The mixer assembly 360a includes an outer housing 362a, an inner housing 364a. The inner housing 364a includes a mesh portion 366a and a non-mesh portion 368a. The mesh portion 366a includes a first plurality of openings 370a and the non-mesh portion 368a includes a second plurality of openings 372a.) (e.g. See Figures 27-33; Paragraphs [0109-0113]).
Regarding claim 5, Golin further discloses wherein the plurality of third through holes comprises a plurality of round holes (384e) and a plurality of elongated holes (382e, 372e), and a first end of the perforated tube is connected to the swirl tube; and the plurality of round holes are distributed in an array and close to the first end of the perforated tube, and the plurality of elongated holes are distributed in an array and close to a second end of the perforated tube (e.g. See Paragraphs [0114] With reference to FIG. 32, an inner housing 364e for another mixer assembly is provided. The inner housing 364e includes a mesh portion 366e and a non-mesh portion 368e. The mesh portion 366e includes a first plurality of openings 370e and the non-mesh portion 368e includes a second plurality of openings 372e. The non-mesh portion 368e also includes a plurality of blades 382e, each blade 382e being associated with a respective opening 372e of the second plurality. The blades 382e extend radially-outward. The non-mesh portion 368e further includes a third plurality of openings 384e having a different shape than the openings 372e of the second plurality.) (e.g. See Figures 27-33; Paragraphs [0112-0115]).
Regarding claim 6, Golin further discloses wherein the plurality of round holes are arranged in a staggered manner along a circumferential direction of the perforated tube (e.g. See Figures 27-33; Paragraphs [0112-0115]).
Regarding claim 7, Golin further discloses wherein the plurality of elongated holes are evenly distributed along an axial direction and a circumferential direction of the perforated tube (e.g. See Figures 27-33; Paragraphs [0112-0115]).
Regarding claim 8, Golin further discloses wherein each of the plurality of first through holes is of an elongated shape, and a length direction of the first through hole is the same as a circumferential direction of the baffle ring (e.g. See Figures 27-33; Paragraphs [0112-0115]).
Regarding claims 11-13, Golin further discloses wherein each of the plurality of first through holes is of an elongated shape, and a length direction of the first through hole is the same as a circumferential direction of the baffle ring.

Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-4, 9, and 14-20 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; and also to overcome the claim objections set forth in this Office action, such as to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 101, and 112 2nd paragraph.
Since allowable subject matter has been indicated, applicant is encouraged to submit Final Formal Drawings (If Needed) in response to this Office action. The early submission of formal drawings will permit the Office to review the drawings for acceptability and to resolve any informalities remaining therein before the application is passed to issue. This will avoid possible delays in the issue process.

Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure and consists of six patents:
Stelzer et al. (Pat./Pub. No. US 2017/0114693), Sampath et al. (Pat./Pub. No. US 2015/0071825), Paterson et al. (Pat./Pub. No. US 8459017), Huffmeyer et al. (Pat./Pub. No. US 2009/0178395), Freeman et al. (Pat./Pub. No. US 2016/0076430), and Chauvin et al. (Pat./Pub. No. US 2022/0341357), all discloses an exhaust gas mixer for use with an internal combustion engine.

Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Primary Examiner Binh Tran whose telephone number is (571) 272-4865. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisors, Mark Laurenzi, can be reach on (571) 270-7878. The fax phone numbers for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned are (571) 273-8300 for regular communications and for After Final communications.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.

Binh Q. Tran
/BINH Q TRAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3748 April 03, 2025

Patent Application 18730297 - SCR SYSTEM AND ENGINE - Rejection

Patent Application 18730297 - SCR SYSTEM AND ENGINE

Application Information

Rejection Summary

Cited Patents

Office Action Text

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