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 .
Status of Claims
1. Claim 1 is pending in this application and examined herein.
Drawings
2. Figure 1 should be designated by a legend such as --Prior Art-- because only that which is old is illustrated. See MPEP § 608.02(g). Corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The replacement sheet(s) should be labeled “Replacement Sheet” in the page header (as per 37 CFR 1.84(c)) so as not to obstruct any portion of the drawing figures. 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 Objections
3. Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: the word “use” is misspelled as “us.” Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
4. 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.
2. Claim 1 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
3. Claim 1 lacks antecedent basis for the recitation the nuclear reactor internal core structure. Furthermore, the preamble of the claim is directed to a fuel assembly but the body of the claim refers to a fuel rod bundle. These terms are synonymous in the art, so the claim is unclear.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
4. In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
5. For applicant's benefit, the portions of the reference(s) relied upon in the below rejections have been cited to aid in the review of the rejections. While every attempt has been made to be thorough and consistent within the rejection, it is noted that prior art must be considered in its entirety, including disclosures that teach away from the claims. See MPEP 2141.02 VI.
6. 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.
7. Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hassig et al., US 3,361,640.
8. Regarding claim 1, Hassig discloses a fuel assembly for use in a core of a nuclear power reactor (Figs. 4 and 5; column 1, lines 19-22), the assembly comprising a frame (26/36) shaped and configured to fit within the nuclear reactor core (inherent to a fuel assembly, see, e.g., the definition for fuel assembly in NRC’s glossary1) and a plurality of helically twisted fuel elements (see Fig. 1) supported by the frame (see Figs. 4 and 5) wherein the circumferential cross sections of the twisted fuel rods circumferentially overlap (see Fig.2 and column 2, lines 21-32, 37-41), each of the fuel elements comprising fissile material (column 2, line 8); wherein as viewed in a cross-section that is perpendicular to an axial direction of the fuel assembly, the outermost fuel elements of the fuel rod bundle define a substantially circular perimeter (see Figs. 4 and 5).
Interviews
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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHARON M DAVIS whose telephone number is (571)272-6882. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday, 7:00 - 5:00 pm ET.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jack Keith can be reached at 571-272-6878. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SHARON M DAVIS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3646
1 https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/basic-ref/glossary/fuel-assembly-fuel-bundle-fuel-element