Appeal No. 2002-0584
Application 08/321,028
desired engine torque output and engine speed (see pages 5 and 6
in the main brief) is not persuasive. As indicated above,
Weisman expressly discloses that the quantity of fuel to be
injected is based on desired engine torque and engine speed (see
Weisman at column 7, lines 8 through 54; and at column 15, lines
4 through 22). The limitation in question does not, as implied
by the appellant, exclude Weisman’s representation of the fuel
amount in terms of an angular displacement of the crank or a
pulse width value.
As for the injection pressure limitations in claim 1,
Takeuchi’s disclosure of the relationship between common rail
pressure (i.e., injection pressure) and the amount of fuel
injected per unit time, and the use of this relationship in a
engine control method to determine fuel injection periods based
on sensed common rail pressure, would have suggested modifying
the method disclosed by Weisman by incorporating such steps,
thereby arriving at the subject matter recited in claim 1. The
requisite motivation for the modification stems from the self-
evident benefit of attaining accurate injection periods (i.e.,
accurate fuel injector energizing times). Contrary to the
position taken by the appellant (see page 6 in the main brief and
8
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007