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
Claims 1 and 5-8 have been amended, claims 2-4 have been canceled and therefore claims 1 and 5-8 are currently under consideration in the application.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: the specification in page 4, line 13 makes reference to a specific claim number (i.e. claim 1) and because during prosecution claim numbers do change due amendment, it is therefore suggested to delete said specific claim number from said portion of the specification and any other portion (s) of the specification thereof. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: in the amended claim 1, lines 3-5, it is suggested to replace “a scrap chamber with a dry hearth, a surface of the scrap chamber is provided for receiving aluminum scrap and is arranged above a surface of an aluminum melt” with -- a scrap chamber with a dry hearth, a surface of which is provided for receiving aluminum scrap and is arranged above a
surface of an aluminum melt --. The reason being that the scrap is received on a
surface of the dry hearth (also see abstract, specification page 1 and also see the amended claim 8).
In claim 1, lines 7-8, it is suggested to replace “a heating chamber having at least one burner for fuel firing or the heating chamber having at least one burner for fuel firing and the scrap chamber including another burner” with -- a heating chamber having at least one burner for fuel firing or the heating chamber having at least one burner for fuel firing, and the scrap chamber having a burner--. 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 1 and 5-8 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 1 recites the limitation "the inner wall" in line 14. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "wherein the at least one burner of the heating chamber and/or the scrap chamber" in line 19. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. In that the preceding line 8, recites “the scrap chamber including another burner” and the scope or “another burner” is different from “at least
one burner” as line 19 suggests.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "wherein a refractory lining of the surface of the dry hearth and/or a refractory lining of the inner wall of the scrap chamber in a region of the dry hearth have fluid channels which can be acted upon by hot gas and are designed to absorb heat into a fluid in the fluid channels from the hot gas and to release it from the fluid in the fluid channels to the aluminum scrap located on the surface of the dry hearth for its thermal pretreatment " in lines 13-18. It is still unclear from the manner in which the limitation is written as to (i) how the channels are designed and (ii) how the channels are acted upon by hot gas or how the channels absorb heat from the hot gas; particularly since the claim does not expressly recite how the channels are designed or the specific configuration of the channels. Also, the source of the hot gas and/or how said hot gas is generated is unclear from the manner in which the claim is written. Furthermore, the specification does not provide any clear description about the configuration of the channels and how they are designed to allow said claimed heat absorption to be achieved. The claim remains indefinite since the metes and bounds are unascertainable.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the air supply and the exhaust gas recirculation being connected in a heat-transferring manner by means of a heat exchanger which is set up to absorb heat from the exhaust gas and to discharge it to the atmosphere" in 21-23. The limitation as set forth lack clarity in that it is unclear how the heat exchanger function as a heat transfer means between the air supply and the exhaust gas recirculation, because the heat absorbed by the heat exchanger form the exhaust gas recirculation would have been expected to be transferred to the air supply stream and not to the atmosphere as the claim appears to suggest. The claim is therefore rendered indefinite due to the ambiguities in meaning.
Claim 6 recites the limitation "the furnace temperature" in line 2. There is
insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1 and 5-8 allowed would be allowable if there are amended to overcome the rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph presented in the instant office action.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: at least because the independent claim 1 has now been amended to incorporate all the limitations of the previously deemed allowable subject matter of claim 4 and the intervening claims 3 and 2, all now canceled from the application.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1 and 5-8 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. In addition, the amendment to the claim did not completely resolve all the 112 (b) issues presented in the previous office action mailed on 03/04/2026 and furthermore raise new issues of clarity under 112 (b) by the amendment filed on 05/26/2026.
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.
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/M.A/Examiner, Art Unit 1733
/JESSEE R ROE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1759
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