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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 09/08/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The applicant argues, on pp. 6-7 of the remarks, that Rampley does not provide for “…wherein the recycled flue gas is mixed, upstream of the combustion zone, with the fuel gas and the combustion air to form a mixture injected into the burner” [claim 21 lines 7-8 of the claim set dated 09/08/2026] because in Rampley “…combustion air is added in the combustion zone, rather than upstream of the combustion zone” (emphasis in original) [see pp. 7 of the remarks]. The examiner respectfully disagrees. Rampley expressly states that “[a] combustion reaction occurs inside combustion chamber 120 as shown by flame 126” [column 5 lines 38-39] and that “[c]ombustion air 172 mixes with the fuel gas mixture in firing head 170 and is ignited to produce flame 126” [column 6 lines 46-47], the former clearly stating that the combustion zone is within the combustion chamber and the latter stating that ignition occurs after mixture, which in a flowing gas means that mixture occurs upstream of the combustion zone. This is further made clear by Fig. 3 which shows the location of flame 126 as downstream of the initial point of contact between the fuel/flue mixture and the combustion air. The examiner notes that the term “combustion zone” is not a clearly defined term of art1; however, the claim language itself provides clarity by locating the combustion zone in the combustion chamber2. Therefore, it is reasonable to interpret the combustion zone as the location of the visible flame, as defined in Rampley as reference character 126, which is located in the combustion chamber and downstream of the initial point of contact between the fuel/flue mixture and the combustion air, as required by the claim. For this reason the rejection is maintained.
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.
Claim 21 is 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 21 recites the limitation "a combustion zone" in line 5, however, claim 21 has already introduced “a combustion zone” in line 2. Therefore, a combustion zone in line 5 should be “the combustion zone”.
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.
Claim(s) 21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Rampley et. al (US 4,995,807).
With respect to claim 21 Rampley discloses a burner configured to receive a fuel gas and a combustion air which react and produce a flame and a flue gas in a combustion zone, the burner comprising: a duct [reference character 134] configured to remove a portion of the flue gas from a radiant section of the combustion chamber, comprising a combustion zone [reference character 120] with the flame [reference character 126], as a recycled flue gas, a fan [reference character 136] configured to draw the recycled flue gas out of the combustion zone, and wherein the recycled flue gas is mixed, upstream of the combustion zone, with the fuel gas and the combustion air to form a mixture injected into the burner [with fuel in mixing chamber 142 and with air in firing head 170].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-5, 7-8, 10-15, and 17-20 are allowed.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to VIVEK K SHIRSAT whose telephone number is (571)272-3722. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00AM-5:20AM.
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/VIVEK K SHIRSAT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3762
1 For example, is the most upstream location of the combustion zone located at the point where fuel decomposition begins? at the point of initial heat release? at the most upstream extent of the luminous portion of the flame? at the most upstream location where fast chemistry is initiated? The answer is unclear. In An Introduction to Combustion: Concepts and Applications Steven Turns states that “[i]t is convenient to divide a flame into two zones: the preheat zone, where little heat is released; and the reaction zone, where the bulk of the chemical energy is released” (emphasis in original) and that “[i]t is useful to divide the reaction zone further into a thin region of fast chemistry followed by a much wider region of slow chemistry” and further that “[h]ydrocarbon flames are also characterized by their visible radiation…the fast-reaction zone appears blue…[at] less than stoichiometric proportions, the zone appears blue-green…[i]f the flame is made richer still, soot will form…caus[ing] us to see a bright yellow(nearly white) to dull orange emission…” [Turns, Steven R. An Introduction to Combustion: Concepts and Applications, second edition. McGraw Hill. 2006. pp. 255-256.]
2 “…a radiant section of the combustion chamber, comprising a combustion zone with the flame” [claim 21 lines 4-5].
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