Appeal No. 1999-0276
Application 08/283,099
that:
It remains the examiner's position that this
indirect sensing of viscosity would have been
obvious to achieve using engine temperature.
Furthermore, it is extremely well known in the
diesel injection art to advance timing as engine
temperatures decrease. For the applicant to assert
that it is not known to advance timing as engine
temperatures are lowered makes no sense.
Combustion, particularly in a diesel engine always
takes longer at lower engine temperatures and this
is particularly true at starting. Igashira (column
1, lines 1-58) clearly teaches using timing data to
first determine a desired timing for injection and
then correcting any errors using the actual ignition
data. This is a refinement of the known systems
which all consider engine temperature.
Initially, we find nothing in the Barnes patent to
support the examiner's statement, supra, that "coolant
temperature is clearly identified in Barnes as an input into
fuel quantity calculations." Barnes does not mention sensing
coolant temperature or engine temperature, and in fact, does
not expressly disclose sensing any temperature in the entire
specification. The only express disclosure of sensing any
temperature in Barnes is the recitation of means for sensing
ambient temperature and of an ambient temperature signal (Ta)
in claims 9 and 10, and an arrow labelled "Ta" in Fig. 1.
With regard to the examiner's assertion, quoted above,
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