DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 12/18/2025 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
This is a non-final office action in response to Applicant's remarks and amendments filed on 12/18/2025. Claim 1 is currently amended. Claims 1-17 are pending review in this action.
The 35 U.S.C. 103 rejections in the previous Office Action are withdrawn.
New grounds of rejection necessitated by Applicant's amendments are presented below.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 12/18/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant has amended claim 1 to further require that: (1) the expander unit (C) is arranged to receive the product gas (10) directly exiting the combustor, and (2) the first compression unit (K) is connected to an input of the SOFC unit (A) and configured to increase the pressure of said oxidant (26,4,8) to a value suitable for the SOFC unit (A) and the combustor unit (B), without said combustor unit preheating said oxidant. Applicant submits that support for this amendment can be found in Fig. 1 of instant application which shows that the combustor (B) does not preheat the oxidant (26). However, while Examiner appreciate the use of parentheses in claims to help link the claimed elements to the descriptions and drawings, examiner reminds applicant that they do not restrict the scope of the claims to the invention as shown in the drawing or as described in the description. In this particular case, while it is true that in Fig. 1 of the instant application, the combustor (B) does not preheat the oxidant (26), examiner notes that the oxidant (26) is basically oxidant (24) which has been preheated by the combustor unit (B) via heat exchanger (D). Accordingly, the scope of the claim, as recited, pertains to oxidant that is received by a first compression unit for the purpose of delivering the oxidant to the SOFC, which, according to Fig. 1, is certainly preheated by the combustor (B). Thus, the amendment to claim 1 raises a new matter issue because there is no support in neither the description or the drawings that the oxidant is not preheated by the combustor unit.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claim 1 is amended to recite, “the first compression unit (K) connected to an input of the SOFC unit (A) and configured to increase the pressure of said oxidant (26,4,8) to a value suitable for the SOFC unit (A) and the combustor unit (B), without said combustor unit preheating said oxidant.” However, examiner notes that, in Fig. 1 to which Applicant points to in remarks filed 11/17/2025 for support, the oxidant (26) is basically oxidant (24) which has been preheated by the combustor unit (B) via heat exchanger (D). Further, the description of the instant application fails to provide support for the combustor unit not preheating the oxidant which is supplied to the SOFC.
Claims 2-17 are likewise rejected because they depend from and incorporate all the limitations of Claim 1.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HAROON S SHEIKH whose telephone number is (571)270-0302. The examiner can normally be reached 9-6.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, JONATHAN LEONG can be reached at (571) 270-1292. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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HAROON S. SHEIKH
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1751
/Haroon S. Sheikh/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1751
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