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 with respect to new and amended claims have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because Figures 5 and 6 are not proper line drawings.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1-2 and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jayaraman et al. (US 5,495,829), Yamaoka et al. (US 2009/0223465), and Kozlov et al. (US 2020/0309385).
Regarding claim 1, Jayaraman (J) discloses an apparatus for producing heat, the apparatus comprising: a burner adapted to produce at least one of radiant heat, flame and hot combustion gases (22); a water storage tank (11) in combination with the burner to heat water in the storage tank; an inlet pipe connected to the water storage tank and configured to deliver unheated water into the storage tank (13); an outlet pipe connected to the water storage tank and configured to deliver heated water from the water storage tank (14); and a thermal-to-electric conversion device (30, C3-L50-52, Figure 1) integrated with the burner and proximate to the burner.
Jayaraman does not disclose a liquid supply line connected at a first end to the inlet pipe and/or the water storage tank and a second end to the outlet pipe and/or the water storage tank and that the conversion device having a first side disposed toward the at least one of radiant heat, flame and hot combustion gases and a second side disposed toward and in heat transfer contact with the liquid supply line.
However, Yamaoka (Y) disclose a hot water storage device (Abstract, Figure 1) with a water storage tank (2); an inlet pipe connected to the water storage tank and configured to deliver unheated water into the storage tank (3); an outlet pipe connected to the water storage tank and configured to deliver heated water from the water storage tank (4) discloses a liquid supply line (51-52) connected at a first end to the inlet pipe and/or the water storage tank and a second end to the outlet pipe and/or the water storage tank, both are connected to the tank, ([0017]). As a clarification the heat exchanger and burner (21,22) would be the equivalent of the thermoelectric device, providing additional heated water.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of this application plumb the liquid supply line as suggested by Yamaoka for the purpose of decreasing stratification within the tank because the circulating path (5) pulls cold water from the bottom of the tank, heats and returns it to the top of the tank.
Additionally, Kozlov (K) discloses an apparatus for producing heat and electricity (Abstract), the apparatus comprising: a burner (106) adapted to produce at least one of radiant heat flame ([0022]) and hot combustion gases; a liquid supply line (140, Figure 1); and a thermal-to-electric conversion device (102) integrated with the burner and proximate to the burner (106), the conversion device having a first side disposed toward the at least one of radiant heat, flame and hot combustion gases and a second side disposed toward and in heat transfer contact with the liquid supply line (FIG. 1).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of this application to substitute the energy supplied by the TEG device to harness not only electrical energy, but also thermal energy in the form of waste heat for maximizing the efficiency of the device.
Regarding claim 2, Jayaraman (J), as modified, discloses the apparatus of Claim 1, wherein a surface of the first side of the conversion device (102, FIG.1, i.e. 90 degrees) is disposed at an angle to a flame axis.
Regarding claim 22, Jayaraman (J), as modified, discloses the apparatus of Claim 1, further comprising a second water storage tank (Y-1, Figure 1) downstream of the conversion device (Y-2, [0016]) and in combination with the liquid supply line (Y-51-52), wherein the second water storage tank collects additional heated water from an outlet of the heat exchanger (Y-21, the equivalent of the thermal-to-electric conversion device) when the burner fires, and the additional heated water from the second water storage tank is supplied to the outlet pipe (Y- via 4).
Claims 3-5,13-15, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jayaraman et al. (US 5,495,829), Yamaoka et al. (US 2009/0223465), Kozlov et al. (US 2020/0309385), and Trant (US 6,761,134).
Regarding claim 3, Jayaraman (J), as modified, discloses the apparatus of Claim 1, further comprising an exhaust flue (K-122, FIG.1) downstream of the burner (K-106), but not that the conversion device is offset from the burner between the burner and the exhaust flue and a surface of the first side of the conversion device is tilted at an angle toward the burner and away from the exhaust flue.
However, Trant (T) discloses a water heater with a TEG (Abstract) wherein the conversion device (38, FIG.1) is offset from the burner (30) between the burner and the exhaust flue (20) and a surface of the first side of the conversion device is tilted at an angle toward the burner and away from the exhaust flue (FIG.1). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of this application to angle the thermoelectric device relative to the flue and burner to allow for a longer duration of contact with the hot gases in order to capture more thermal energy and thus produce more energy.
Regarding claim 4, Jayaraman (J), as modified, discloses the apparatus of Claim 3, wherein the conversion device comprises a plurality of thermoelectric generators (TEGs) disposed around the burner (K-102, FIG.1.,110).
Regarding claim 5, Jayaraman (J), as modified, discloses the apparatus of Claim 4, wherein one or more sections of the liquid supply line (K-140) extend through the plurality of thermoelectric generators (K-102) before connection to a heated water outlet (K-146).
Regarding claim 13, Jayaraman (J), as modified, discloses the apparatus of Claim 1, wherein the liquid supply line (K-140, FIG.1) connects to the outlet pipe (K-146) and/or the storage tank downstream of the conversion device (K-102)
Regarding claim 14, Jayaraman (J), as modified, discloses the apparatus of Claim 13, further comprising a second storage tank (K-130, FIG.1.) downstream of the conversion device (K-102) and in combination with the liquid supply line (K-140).
Regarding claim 15, Jayaraman (J), as modified, discloses the apparatus of Claim 13, wherein the conversion device comprises a plurality of thermoelectric generators disposed around the burner (K-102,110, FIG.1), wherein one or more sections of the liquid supply line extends through at least adjacent pairs of the plurality of thermoelectric generator modules or heat sinks before connection back to the outlet pipe (K-146, [0023]) and/or the storage tank.
Regarding claim 18, Jayaraman (J), as modified, discloses the water heater of Claim 17, further comprising: an exhaust flue (20) downstream of the burner and extending along the water storage tank; an unheated water inlet pipe (K-140) upstream of the water storage tank; wherein the liquid supply line is connected to the inlet pipe, the conversion device (38) is offset from the burner between the burner and the exhaust flue and a surface of the first side of the conversion device is tilted at an angle toward the burner and away from the exhaust flue.
Claim 21 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jayaraman et al. (US 5,495,829), Yamaoka et al. (US 2009/0223465), Kozlov et al. (US 2020/0309385), and Boros et al (US 7,298,968).
Regarding claim 21, Jayaraman (J), as modified, discloses the apparatus of Claim 1, but not that the liquid supply line is connected downstream of the thermal-to-electric conversion device to each of the outlet pipe and the water storage tank.
However, Boros discloses water heater system (Abstract) wherein the liquid supply line (34, Figure 2) is capable of being connected downstream of the thermal-to-electric conversion device (12, the instantaneous heater is the equivalent) to each of the outlet pipe (42) and the water storage tank (20). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of this application to bypass the storage tank when the heat generated by the alternate device will fulfil the need, thus increasing the system’s thermal efficiency.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOHN E BARGERO whose telephone number is (571) 270-1770. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday.
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, Helena Kosanovic can be reached at (571) 272-9059. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/JOHN E BARGERO/Examiner, Art Unit 3762
/HELENA KOSANOVIC/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3762
Prosecution Insights