DETAILED ACTION
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 08/11/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 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.
Claim Objections
Claim 16 is objected to because of the following informalities:
“the two side plates” in claim 16 lack antecedent basis.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 16-17 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 16 recites the limitation "wherein before the plate is bent" in line 4. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim as there are two plates introduced, a “metal plate” and a “side plate”, therefore it is unclear as to what the limitation is referring to.
Claim 17 is rejected based on its dependency to claim 16.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 3, 8-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ono (JP 2016125681 A) (previously cited in the office action of 05/19/2026) in view of Huang (US 20180087772 A1 ) (previously cited in the office action of 05/19/2026), Szyling (PL 218959 B1) and Choi (KR 20010090393 A).
Regarding claim 1, Ono teaches of:
A fire grate (Figs. 4-5, 5) comprising:
a fire grate body (51), which is formed with a ventilation channel (55), wherein a top portion of the fire grate body is provided with a dividing hole (53a) in communication with the ventilation channel (51b is in communication with 55);
a flame stabilizer (52), sleeved on an upper portion of the fire grate body (52 is shown sleeved on the fire grate body in Figs. 305), wherein a cavity (56) with a top surface as an opening is formed within the flame stabilizer (see opening of 56 at the top of 52), a gap being formed between a side wall of the cavity and a surface of the fire grate body (see gap between 52a and 51), and in communication with the ventilation channel (the opening is in communication with 55 via 56a)
Ono fails to explicitly teach:
a metal mesh comprising a plurality of mesh layers, which is attached onto the fire grate body at a position corresponding to the dividing hole,
wherein the plurality of mesh layers are stacked in an S shape or a rolling shutter shape.
Huang teaches of:
a metal mesh (Fig. 14, 32; ¶ [0042], “a metal net 32 having a plurality of meshes”) which is attached onto the fire grate body at a position corresponding to the dividing hole (32 is attached at dividing hole via 34a)
The primary reference can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
add a metal mesh to Ono and connect it at 51b immediately below the dividing hole 53a
A person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the above modification(s) because:
it would stabilize the flame, preventing forked flames (Huang, ¶ [0040], “The metal net 32 achieves the effect of rectifying the flames emitted from the flame holes 342, which makes the flame more even, and avoids the formation of forked flame.”)
Szyling teaches of:
a metal mesh comprising a plurality of mesh layers
wherein the plurality of mesh layers are stacked (Fig. 1, 3 is a series of stacked metal mesh layers positioned at a burner outlet; ¶ [0012], “In the upper part of the burner there is a heating plate 3 made of a set of four metal meshes, each of which has a different function and a different structure. The upper mesh is a heat radiator because gas burns in its meshes. This mesh is made of medium-thickness wire. The lower mesh, with dense mesh, serves as a flame stabilizer, protects against possible flame flashback and acts as a thermal distancing element from the next mesh. The lower mesh is a structural element of the heating plate and is made of thicker wire with larger meshes. The lower mesh has the densest mesh and ensures the uniformity of the gas-air mixture by breaking up the gas structures.”)
The combined teachings can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
modify the mesh of the combined teachings to be multiple layers of mesh
A person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the above modification(s) because:
each layer of mesh can perform a different function, such as uniformly mixing the gas-air mixture of the fuel, stabilizing the flame and preventing flashback (Szyling, ¶ [0012])
Choi teaches of:
an S shape or a rolling shutter shape (Fig. 2, metal mesh 10 has rolling shutter shape 12)
The combined teachings can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
modify the multiple layers of metal mesh of the combined teachings to be stacked in a rolling shutter shape matching that of Choi while still maintaining the connection to 51b of Ono so that the ends of Choi are bent to be flat as shown in Fig. 2 of Choi
A person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the above modification(s) because:
it would improve the strength of the mesh layers, preventing deformation or damage due to the thermal expansion and contraction (¶ [0010], “specifically, the invention relates to a metal fiber mat for a surface combustion burner having a plurality of wrinkles formed thereon and a method for manufacturing the same, characterized by forming a plurality of wrinkles on the metal fiber mat to prevent deformation of the shape of the metal fiber mat or damage to the bonding structure of the sintered metal fibers due to thermal expansion and contraction, thereby enabling the absorption of expansion and contraction forces according to heating and cooling cycles.”)
Regarding claim 3, the combined teachings teach of the fire grate according to claim 1, and the combined teachings further teach:
wherein the metal mesh is located below the dividing hole (Huang, Fig. 14, 32 is positioned below the dividing hole at surface 34a)
Regarding claim 8, the combined teachings teach of the fire grate according to claim 1, and the combined teachings further teach:
wherein:
the flame stabilizer is provided with a reinforcement rib (Ono, Fig. 4, 52b) at the opening (52b is at the opening); and
the reinforcement rib is fixedly connected to the metal mesh, or the reinforcement rib is fixedly connected to the top portion of the fire grate body (52b is fixed to the top portion of the fire grate shown in Fig. 4; ¶ [0017]).
Regarding claim 9, the combined teachings teach of the fire grate according to claim 1, and the combined teachings further teach:
wherein an edge of at least one layer of the metal meshes is bent to form a bent part (see combination made in the rejection of claim 1 with Choi, the ends of the metal meshes must be bent flat to attach to 52b of Ono)
Regarding claim 10, the combined teachings teach of the fire grate according to claim 1, and the combined teachings further teach:
wherein:
the top portion of the fire grate body is plate-shaped (Ono, see plate-shaped top portion of 5 in Fig. 4), and the fire grate body has two side plates (Ono, Fig. 5, holes 56a pass through two side plates) extending from the top portion to a same side of the top portion (both side plates extend from the top portion to a top side of the top portion at 51b); and
the ventilation channel is formed between the two side plates (55 is formed between the two side plate), and at least one of the side plates has at least one gas outlet (56a) thereon to communicate the ventilation channel to the gap (each side plate has a gas outlet 56a communicating with gap 56).
Regarding claim 11, the combined teachings teach of the fire grate according to claim 10, and the combined teachings further teach:
wherein the at least one gas outlet comprises a plurality of gas outlets (Ono, Fig. 5, there are a plurality of gas outlets 56a), the plurality of the gas outlets being arranged at intervals on the at least one of the side plates along the length direction of the top portion of the fire grate body (¶ [0016]-[0017], “a plurality of vent holes 56a spaced apart in the front-to-rear direction”).
Regarding claim 12, the combined teachings teach of the fire grate according to claim 10, and the combined teachings further teach:
wherein a flow passing area at the at least one gas outlet gradually increases from the ventilation channel to the gap (Ono, Fig. 5, flow passing area from 57 to 53b at the outlet of 56a increases).
Regarding claim 13, the combined teachings teach of the fire grate according to claim 10, and the combined teachings further teach:
wherein:
the flame stabilizer comprises two flame stabilizing sheets (Ono, Fig. 4, 52a) snapped with each other (both 52a are snapped together via 52b); and
the two flame stabilizing sheets are respectively disposed with lateral convex hulls arranged at intervals along the length direction of the flame stabilizer (see lateral convex hulls positioned immediately below 57 which are arranged at intervals along the length of the stabilizer).
Regarding claim 14, the combined teachings teach of the fire great according to claim 13, and the combined teachings further teach:
wherein the lateral convex hull comprises an inner convex hull (Ono, Fig. 4, inner convex hull is 57) and at least two external convex hulls (the above cited convex hulls of claim 13 are the two external convex hulls), the inner convex hull protruding toward the cavity (57 protrudes towards the cavity of 52), the at least two external convex hulls protruding toward an outside of the fire grate (the external convex hulls protrude away from the cavity of 52), the inner convex hull being arranged between the at least two external convex hulls (the central inner convex hull 57 shown in Fig. 4 is positioned between two external convex hulls).
Regarding claim 15, Ono teaches of:
A manufacturing method of a fire grate (5), comprising:
preparing a metal plate (51a is positioned on the metal plate) a flame stabilizing sheet (52a is positioned on the flame stabilizing sheet);
shaping the metal plate to form a fire grate body (51) with a ventilation channel (55) and a dividing hole (53a), the dividing hole being located at a top portion of the fire grate body and in communication with the ventilation channel (51b is at the top of the fire grate body and in communication with 55);
shaping the flame stabilizing sheet to form a flame stabilizer (52) which has a cavity (56) with a top surface as an opening (56 is open at its top surface);
sleeving the flame stabilizer on an upper portion of the fire grate body (52 is sleeved onto the top portion of 5).
Ono fails to explicitly teach:
a metal mesh comprising a plurality of mesh layers
wherein the plurality of mesh layers are stacked in an S shape or a rolling shutter shape
fixing the metal mesh onto the fire grate body at a position corresponding to the dividing hole, or fixing the metal mesh onto the flame stabilizer at a position corresponding to the dividing hole
Huang teaches of:
a metal mesh (Fig. 14, 32; ¶ [0042], “a metal net 32 having a plurality of meshes”)
which is attached onto the fire grate body at a position corresponding to the dividing hole (32 is attached at dividing hole via 34a)
The primary reference can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
add a metal mesh at the dividing hole 51b of Ono
A person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the above modification(s) because:
it would stabilize the flame, preventing forked flames (Huang, ¶ [0040], “The metal net 32 achieves the effect of rectifying the flames emitted from the flame holes 342, which makes the flame more even, and avoids the formation of forked flame.”)
Szyling teaches of:
a metal mesh comprising a plurality of mesh layers
wherein the plurality of mesh layers are stacked (Fig. 1, 3 is a series of stacked metal mesh layers positioned at a burner outlet; ¶ [0012], “In the upper part of the burner there is a heating plate 3 made of a set of four metal meshes, each of which has a different function and a different structure. The upper mesh is a heat radiator because gas burns in its meshes. This mesh is made of medium-thickness wire. The lower mesh, with dense mesh, serves as a flame stabilizer, protects against possible flame flashback and acts as a thermal distancing element from the next mesh. The lower mesh is a structural element of the heating plate and is made of thicker wire with larger meshes. The lower mesh has the densest mesh and ensures the uniformity of the gas-air mixture by breaking up the gas structures.”)
The combined teachings can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
modify the mesh of the combined teachings to be multiple layers of mesh
A person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the above modification(s) because:
each layer of mesh can perform a different function, such as uniformly mixing the gas-air mixture of the fuel, stabilizing the flame and preventing flashback (Szyling, ¶ [0012])
Choi teaches of:
an S shape or a rolling shutter shape (Fig. 1, metal mesh 10 has rolling shutter shaper 12)
The combined teachings can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
modify the multiple layers of metal mesh of the combined teachings to be stacked in a rolling shutter shape matching that of Choi
A person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the above modification(s) because:
it would improve the strength of the mesh layers, preventing deformation or damage due to the thermal expansion and contraction (¶ [0010], “specifically, the invention relates to a metal fiber mat for a surface combustion burner having a plurality of wrinkles formed thereon and a method for manufacturing the same, characterized by forming a plurality of wrinkles on the metal fiber mat to prevent deformation of the shape of the metal fiber mat or damage to the bonding structure of the sintered metal fibers due to thermal expansion and contraction, thereby enabling the absorption of expansion and contraction forces according to heating and cooling cycles.”)
Regarding claim 16, the combined teachings teach of the manufacturing method of a fire grate according to claim 15 and the combined teachings further teach:
wherein the shaping the metal plate to form the fire grate body with the ventilation channel and the dividing hole comprises:
bending two ends of the metal plate to a same side of the metal plate to form the top portion of the fire grate body (Ono, Figs. 4-5, the metal plate of the fire grate must be bent to form the top portion) and the two side plates which extend from the top portion to the same side of the top portion (both side plates 51a of the metal plate are bent to the same side at the top portion to form 51b), wherein before the plate is bent, the dividing hole is punched out at a position corresponding to the top portion, or after the metal plate is bent, the dividing hole is punched out at the top portion (53a would need to be punched either before it after); and
stamping the two side plates to form the ventilation channel between the two side plates (55).
Regarding claim 17, the combined teachings teach of the manufacturing method of a fire grate according to claim 16, the combined teachings further teach:
wherein the stamping the two side plates to form the ventilation channel between the two side plates comprises:
stamping corresponding positions of the two side plates according to a preset shape of the ventilation channel (Ono, both side plates 51a form 55); and
snapping the two side plates after edges of other three sides of the two side plates are cut, and causing an edge of one side plate of the two side plates snapped to be wrapped with an edge of the other side plate (Figs. 4-5, 51a has bent over edge; ¶ [0012],[0014]-[0017]).
Regarding claim 18, the combined teachings teach of:
A burner comprising at least one of the fire grate according to claim 1 (fire grate 5 is utilized as a burner)
Regarding claim 19, the combined teachings teach of the burner according to claim 18, and the combined teachings further teach:
wherein the at least one of the fire grate comprises a plurality of the fire grates and the plurality of the fire grates are arranged side by side (Ono, Fig. 1, see the plurality of fire grates 5 side by side).
Regarding claim 20, the combined teachings further teach:
A water heater comprising the burner according to claim 18 (the apparatus of Ono is utilized with a water heater, see ¶ [0010)
Claim(s) 4-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ono (JP 2016125681 A) (previously cited in the office action of 05/19/2026) in view of Huang (US 20180087772 A1 ) (previously cited in the office action of 05/19/2026), Szyling (PL 218959 B1) and Choi (KR 20010090393 A) and in further view of Chen (US 20200166243 A1) (previously cited in the office action of 05/19/2026).
Regarding claim 4, the combined teachings teach of the fire grate according to claim 1, however, the combined teachings fail to explicitly teach:
wherein the dividing hole comprises a plurality of first dividing holes and a plurality of second dividing holes, an open area of the first dividing holes being larger than an open area of the second dividing holes.
Chen teaches of:
wherein the dividing hole comprises a plurality of first dividing holes (Figs. 3-4, 1351) and a plurality of second dividing holes (1352), an open area of the first dividing holes being larger than an open area of the second dividing holes (Fig. 5, see ¶ [0050]-[0052]).
The combined teachings can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
modify the dividing holes of Ono to have a plurality of first dividing holes and second dividing holes where the first dividing holes have a larger open area than the second dividing holes and arrange them as shown in Figs. 4 and 5 of Chen
A person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the above modification(s) because:
would improve flame stability resulting in better burner performance (Chen, ¶ [0052])
Regarding claim 5, the combined teachings teach of the fire grate according to claim 4, and the combined teachings further teach:
wherein the plurality of first dividing holes and the plurality of second dividing holes are arranged at intervals along a length direction of the top portion of the fire grate body (Chen, Fig. 5, both 1351 and 1352 are arranged at intervals along the length of the fire grate)
Regarding claim 6, the combined teachings teach of the fire grate according to claim 5, and the combined teachings further teach:
wherein the plurality of first dividing holes and the plurality of second dividing holes are alternately arranged at intervals along the length direction of the top portion of the fire grate body (Chen, Fig. 5, see alternating arrangement between 1351 and 1352 along the length of the fire grate body)
Regarding claim 7, the combined teachings teach of the fire grate according to claim 7, and the combined teachings further teach:
wherein the second dividing holes comprise a plurality of sub-dividing holes which are arranged along a width direction of the top portion of the fire grate body (Chen, Fig. 5, 1352 is subdivided along the width direction into two holes each)
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL J GIORDANO whose telephone number is (571)272-8940. The examiner can normally be reached M-Fr 8 AM - 5 PM EST.
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/MICHAEL JAMES GIORDANO/Examiner, Art Unit 3762
/HELENA KOSANOVIC/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3762
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