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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, i) the dilution holes of the first set of dilution holes … equally spaced about an entirety of a circumference of the combustion line [sic.] as claimed in claim 1; ii) the dilution holes of the second set of dilution … equally spaced about the entirety of the circumference of the combustor liner as claimed in claim 1; iii) a first set of dilution holes … equally spaced about an entirety of a circumference of the combustor chamber as claimed in claim 17; and iv) second set of dilution holes … equally spaced about the entirety of the circumference of the combustor chamber as claimed in claim 17 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
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 Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: term “the combustor line” is believed to be in error for - - the combustor [[line]]liner - -
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-3, 5, 8, and 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Regarding claim 1 and its dependents, recitation “the dilution holes of the first set of dilution holes … equally spaced about an entirety of a circumference of the combustor line; and … the dilution holes of the second set of dilution holes … equally spaced about the entirety of the circumference of the combustor liner” is not supported by the disclosure because:
i) according to [0059-0060], the specification discloses the first set of dilution holes 290a of Fig. 4 can be part of or define a whole of a first row of dilution openings 216 as shown in Fig. 7 extending about an entirety circumference of the combustor liner 282, and a similar disclosure for the second set of dilution holes 290b of Fig. 4 may be found at [0063] and Fig. 7;
ii) according to [0064-0065], the specification further discloses the second set of dilution holes 290b can be part of or define a whole of a row of dilution openings 224 in Fig. 8 extending about the entirety circumference of the combustor liner 282, and the dilution open of the second set of dilution holes 290b includes a slot 227;
iii) according to [0066-0067 and 0069], the specification further discloses the size of each dilution holes of the second set of dilution holes 290b may be different as shown in Fig. 9 or the size of each dilution holes of the first set of dilution holes 290a may be different as shown in Fig. 11;
iv) according to [0068], the specification further discloses the dilution holes of the second set of dilution holes 290b is staggered with the dilution holes of the first set of dilution holes 290a as shown in Fig. 10;
v) however, the first set of dilution holes 290a and the second set of dilution holes 290b as shown in Figs. 7-11 are the holes that provided only on a section of the combustor liner, i.e., even though [0060 and 0065] discloses the first set of dilution holes 290a and the second set of dilution holes 290 are arranged about the entirety of the circumference of the combustor liner, the arrangement may be as the one demonstrated in annotated Fig. 11 below;
vi) therefore, the specification DOES support the first set of dilution holes 290a and the second set of dilution holes 290b are arranged on the entirety of the circumference of the combustor liner, but DOES NOT support the dilution holes of said first set of dilution holes 290a are equally spaced about said entirety of the circumference and DOES NOT support the dilution holes of said second set of dilution holes 290b are equally spaced about said entirety of the circumference, and thus, claim 1 and its dependents are rejected as new matter.
The same rejection is also applied to limitation “a first set of dilution holes … equally spaced about an entirety of a circumference of the combustor chamber, … a second set of dilution holes … equally spaced about the entirety of the circumference of the combustor chamber” for claim 17 and its dependent.
PNG
media_image1.png
1016
717
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Potential Allowable Subject Matter
Regarding independent claim 1, the arts on the record themselves or in combination does not teach in combination with the other limitations of claim 1, which requires the dilution holes of the first set of dilution holes aligned on a first plane transverse to a centerline of the combustion section and equally spaced about an entirety of a circumference of the combustor line, and the dilution holes of the second set of dilution holes aligned on a second plane transverse to the centerline of the combustion section and equally spaced about the entirety of the circumference of the combustor liner, and an igniter disposed, in a direction along the combustor length L, between the first and second planes.
Regarding independent claim 17, the arts on the record themselves or in combination does not teach in combination with the other limitations of claim 1, which requires first set of dilution holes aligned on a first plane transverse to a centerline of the combustion chamber and equally spaced about an entirety of a circumference of the combustor chamber, a second set of dilution holes aligned on a second plane transverse to the centerline of the combustion chamber and equally spaced about the entirety of the circumference of the combustor chamber, wherein the fuel/air mixture is ignited within the primary zone of the combustion chamber between the first and second planes.
However, such limitations of claims 1 and 17 are rejection as new matter, see above.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 JINGCHEN LIU whose telephone number is (571)272-6639. The examiner can normally be reached 9:30-4:30.
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, Devon Kramer can be reached at (571) 272-7118. 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.
/JINGCHEN LIU/ /GERALD L SUNG/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3741 Examiner, Art Unit 3741
Prosecution Insights