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 05/19/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The applicant argues, on pp. 10 of the response, that Batz cannot provide for the limitations of claim 1 because the second fuel lances could not be used as staged oxidant conduits, and because the configuration of Batz would, based on the applicant’s analysis, increase the production of NOx and not decrease it. Setting aside the technical merits of the applicant’s arguments, Claim 1, as presented in the claim set dated 05/19/2026, does not require staged combustion nor NOx reduction. In response to applicant's argument that the references fail to show certain features of the invention, it is noted that the features upon which applicant relies (i.e., staged combustion and NOx reduction) are not recited in the rejected claim(s). Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
The applicant’s amendments overcome the 35 U.S.C 112(b) rejections of claims 1-3 and 31-37 presented in the Non-Final rejection dated 02/23/2026; therefore, the rejections are withdrawn.
The terminal disclaimer filed 05/19/2026 overcomes the provisional non-statutory double patenting rejections presented in the Non-Final rejection dated 02/23/2026; therefore, the rejections are withdrawn.
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) 1-3, 28, 33, 36-37 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Batz et. al (US 20160076763 A1).
With respect to claim 1 Batz discloses a burner [reference character 100], comprising a primary fuel conduit [reference character 11] comprising a primary fuel outlet [reference character 17] having a multiplicity of primary fuel exit holes [see paragraph 0058] for supply of a primary fuel into an ignition chamber [see annotated Fig. below], wherein the wall surrounding the ignition chamber comprises a plurality of bleed holes [the apertures in 14], a main oxidant conduit [reference character 13] for supply of a main oxidant, comprising an intermediate annular conduit [see annotated Fig. below] in a downstream portion of the burner [see annotated Fig. below], which intermediate annular conduit is configured to allow splitting of the main oxidant, such that a first portion is introduced into the ignition chamber via the plurality of bleed holes to mix with the primary fuel, and a second portion is introduced into an oxidant section [the section occupied by swirl means 15]; wherein the burner further comprises a plurality of secondary oxidant conduits [reference character 113] for supply of a secondary oxidant, particularly wherein at least in said downstream portion of the burner the primary fuel conduit is surrounded by the main oxidant conduit and the plurality of secondary oxidant conduits [see Fig. 1].
PNG
media_image1.png
711
1064
media_image1.png
Greyscale
With respect to claim 2 Batz discloses that the burner further comprises a secondary fuel conduit [reference character 21] for supply of a secondary fuel, having a secondary fuel outlet [reference character 22] at its downstream end, wherein at least in the downstream portion of the burner, in which primary fuel outlet, ignition chamber, intermediate annular conduit and secondary fuel outlet are present, the primary fuel conduit is surrounded by the main oxidant conduit and the secondary fuel conduit [see Fig. 2].
With respect to claim 3 Batz discloses that at least in said downstream portion of the burner the primary fuel conduit is surrounded by the main oxidant conduit and the secondary fuel conduit, and the plurality of secondary oxidant conduits [see Fig. 2].
With respect to claim 28 Batz discloses that the oxidant section is a swirler section [reference character 15], particularly wherein the intermediate annular conduit is configured to allow splitting of the main oxidant into two portions, wherein a second portion is introduced into a swirler section.
With respect to claim 33 Batz discloses that during start-up, about 100% of the total thermal power of the burner is provided by the i) primary fuel [paragraph 0082].
With respect to claim 36 Batz discloses a method for operating a burner (1) in accordance with claim 1, the method comprising the steps of i) starting the burner, ii) ramping up the burner in firing rate [paragraphs 0082], iii) starting the secondary fuel, iv) further ramping up the burner to the firing rate of the burner [paragraph 0083].
With respect to claim 37 Batz discloses that step i) comprises starting the main oxidant, the ignition source, and the primary fuel [paragraph 0072].
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) 31 and 32 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Batz et. al (US 20160076763 A1).
With respect to claim 31 Batz does not disclose that the burner (1) is configured in such a way that, at the exit of a given conduit, the velocity of the primary fuel is between 30 ft/s and 500 ft/s, particularly between 40 i) ft/s and 400 ft/s; and/or ii) the velocity of the main oxidant is between 5 ft/s and 300 ft/s, particularly between 10 ft/s and 200 ft/s; and/or iii) the velocity of the secondary fuel is between 20 ft/s and 200 ft/s, particularly between 40 ft/s and 120 ft/s; and/or iv) the velocity of the secondary oxidant is between 50 ft/s and 500 ft/s, particularly between 100 ft/s and 300 ft/s.
However, the velocities of the fuel and oxidant are interpreted to be result effective variables that would be optimized in order to achieve a desired result. In this case the velocities would be optimized in order to minimized the mixing time (or mixing distance) and ensure flameholding over the breadth of the burner’s turndown ratio. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the filing date of the invention to provide the fuel and oxidizer velocities required by the claim since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or working ranges involves only routine skill in the art In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
With respect to claim 32 Batz does not disclose that the swirl angle is from 5 to 60 degrees, preferably from 30 to 45 degrees. However, the swirl angle is interpreted to be a result effective variable that would be optimized in order to achieve a desired result. In this case the angle would be optimized so that the ratio of angular to axial momentum of the fluid issued from the swirler would result in both mixing and flame stabilization.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 21-27, 29-30, and 34-35 are 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.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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.
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, Steven B McAllister can be reached at 571-272-6785. 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.
/VIVEK K SHIRSAT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3762
Prosecution Insights