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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of claims 19-22 in the reply filed on 6/10/26 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that the amended claims now have a special technical feature. This is not found persuasive because the claims are shown not to have a special technical feature per the rejection below.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
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.
Claims 20 and 22 are 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 20 and 22 repeatedly use the term “near”. The term “near” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. PGPUB 20160245127 to Kloeckener (Kloeckener) in view of U.S. PGPUB 20210292930 to Palumbo et al. (Palumbo) and KR101482654 to Jung et al. (Jung).
Regarding claim 19, Kloeckener teaches a casing (54’’, Figure 5) having an inlet and an outlet and a gas flow path there between for gas flow upstream from the inlet toward the outlet downstream therefrom (shown in Figure 5); upstream coils of heat exchanger tubes, the upstream coils located within the casing downstream from the inlet (155’’, Figure 5); one or more feedwater heater coils of heat exchanger tubes, the one or more feedwater heater coils located within the casing downstream from the upstream coils so that gas passing through the upstream coils can flow downstream from the upstream coils to pass through the one or more feedwater heater coils (74’’, Figure 5), the one or more feedwater heater coils having an inlet and an outlet (shown in Figure 5); one or more low temperature heat exchanging coils located within the casing downstream from the upstream coils so that gas passing through the one or more feedwater heater coils can flow downstream from the one or more feedwater heater coils to pass through the one or more low temperature heat exchanging coils (106’’, Figure 5), the one or more low temperature heat exchanging coils having an inlet and an outlet (shown in Figure 5), a first conduit extending from flow connection with a low temperature heat exchanging coil to flow connection with a feedwater heater coil, the first conduit configured for water to flow there through from the low temperature heat exchanging coil to the feedwater heater coil (135’’, Figure 5); and a second conduit extending from the one or more feedwater heater coils to one or more of the upstream coils of heat exchanger tubes (138’’ and 143’’, Figure 5), the second conduit configured to allow water to flow there through from a feedwater heater coil to one or more of the upstream coils (shown in Figure 5); the process comprising the steps of: directing water into the inlet of the one or more low temperature heat exchanging coils (through 332, Figure 5); directing water to flow from the outlet of the one or more low temperature heat exchanging coils through the first conduit to the inlet of one or more feedwater heater coils at a temperature above the dewpoint of the gas (through 135, Figure 5 with temperature listed in Figure 5); and directing water from the one or more feedwater heater coils to one or more of the upstream coils (through 138’’ and 143’’, Figure 5).
Kloeckener is silent on the one or more low temperature heat exchanging coils comprising a corrosion-resistant, thermally conductive graphite based component combined with a thermoplastic polymer component composite material, and the water directed to the low temperature heat exchanger coils being at a temperature below the dew point of the gas.
Palumbo teaches the one or more low temperature heat exchanging coils comprising a corrosion-resistant, thermally conductive graphite based component combined with a thermoplastic polymer component composite material (Paragraphs 0058-0060 and 0116). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the teachings of Kloeckener with the teachings of Palumbo to provide the one or more low temperature heat exchanging coils comprising a corrosion-resistant, thermally conductive graphite based component combined with a thermoplastic polymer component composite material. Doing so would increase the strength and themal stability of the tubes.
Jung teaches the water directed to the low temperature heat exchanger coils being at a temperature below the dew point of the gas (Claim 5 and last paragraph of Page 6 of translation). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the teachings of Kloeckener with the teachings of Jung to provide the water directed to the low temperature heat exchanger coils being at a temperature below the dew point of the gas. Doing so would remove pollutants from the exhaust.
Claim(s) 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kloeckener in view of Palumbo, Jung, and U.S. PGPUB 20150121875 to Burns et al. (Burns).
Regarding claim 20, Kloeckener teaches wherein the one or more low temperature heat exchanging coils have an upstream face and a downstream face (Figure 5), the first conduit is configured to exit the one or more low temperature heat exchanging coils near the upstream face of the one or more low temperature heat exchanging coils (shown in Figure 5), and the inlet for receiving feedwater located near the downstream face of the one or more low temperature heat exchanging coils (shown in Figure 5), and wherein the one or more feedwater heater coils have a downstream face and an upstream face (shown in Figure 5), and the first conduit exits a low temperature heat exchanging coil near the upstream face of the one or more low temperature heat exchanging coils to extend to flow connection with the one or more feedwater heater coils near the downstream face of the one or more feedwater heater coils (shown in Figure 5), the process further comprising the steps of: directing water to flow from the one or more low temperature heat exchanging coils through the first conduit from near the upstream face of the one or more low temperature heat exchanging coils to flow into the one or more feedwater heater coils near the downstream face of the one or more low temperature heat exchanging coils (shown in Figure 5).
Kloeckener is silent on a third conduit configured to extend for flow connection from the one or more feedwater heater coils near the upstream face of said one or more feedwater heater coil to one or more of the upstream coils; the process further comprising the steps of: directing water from the one or more feedwater heater coils near the upstream face of the one or more feedwater heater coils to one or more of the upstream coils.
Burns teaches a third conduit configured to extend for flow connection from the one or more feedwater heater coils near the upstream face of said one or more feedwater heater coil to one or more of the upstream coils; the process further comprising the steps of: directing water from the one or more feedwater heater coils near the upstream face of the one or more feedwater heater coils to one or more of the upstream coils (connections shown in Figure 5E and 14a at least at 205). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the teachings of Kloeckener with the teachings of Burns to provide a third conduit configured to extend for flow connection from the one or more feedwater heater coils near the upstream face of said one or more feedwater heater coil to one or more of the upstream coils; the process further comprising the steps of: directing water from the one or more feedwater heater coils near the upstream face of the one or more feedwater heater coils to one or more of the upstream coils. Doing so would allow heat to be transferred as desired in different loops and/or allow additional heat to be transferred to the working fluid.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 22 is 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 correcting all 112 issues. The prior art does not provide a reasonable combination to teach “a water-to-water heat exchanger positioned external to the casing and having a lower temperature path and a higher temperature path;the water-to-water heat exchanger having an inlet configured to be in connection with its lower temperature path so that the first conduit can extend through said inlet and pass through the lower temperature path and thence extend to flow connection with [a] the inlet of the first of the feedwater heater coil sections near the downstream face of said first feedwater heater coil section, the said first section having a conduit flowing from near its upstream face into the higher temperature path of the water-to- water heat exchanger, the higher temperature path extending to flow connection to near the downstream face of another feedwater heater coil section” in combination with the rest of claim 22.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to STEVEN S ANDERSON II whose telephone number is (571)272-2055. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5.
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/STEVEN S ANDERSON II/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3762
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