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 .
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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, 11, 14 and 26 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chen et al [20200156025].
With respect to claim 1, Chen discloses: A burner for premixing fuel and oxidizer to form a flammable mixture for a combustion reaction in a reaction zone, the burner configured to reduce formation of a pollutant when the fuel and the oxidizer are combusted while deterring upstream propagation of the combustion reaction out of the reaction zone, the burner comprising: a mixer (see reproduced figure 1, below) for premixing fuel and oxidizer to form a flammable mixture to be supplied to a reaction zone for a combustion reaction [paragraph 0010], the mixer configured to reduce formation of a pollutant when the fuel and the oxidizer are combusted; a flame arrestor (see reproduced figure 1, below) for deterring upstream propagation of the combustion reaction out of the reaction zone [paragraph 0012, 0025], the mixer and the flame arrestor including: a first packing volume for containing first packing, a second packing volume for containing second packing, a packing gap in fluid communication between the first packing volume and the second packing volume [see reproduced FIG 1 below].
With respect to claim 11, Chen discloses: A method for premixing fuel and oxidizer in a burner to form a flammable mixture to be supplied to a reaction zone for a combustion reaction, the burner configured to reduce formation of a pollutant when the fuel and the oxidizer are combusted while deterring upstream propagation of the combustion reaction out of the reaction zone, the method comprising: introducing fuel and oxidizer to a first packing volume containing first packing [paragraph 0010]; introducing the fuel and the oxidizer to a packing gap downstream of the first packing volume; and introducing the fuel and the oxidizer to a second packing volume containing second packing downstream of the packing gap [paragraph 0012, 0025].
With respect to claim 14, Chen discloses: A burner for premixing fuel and oxidizer to form a flammable mixture for a combustion reaction in a reaction zone, the burner configured to reduce formation of a pollutant when the fuel and the oxidizer are combusted while deterring upstream propagation of the combustion reaction out of the reaction zone, the burner comprising: a mixer (see reproduced figure 1, below) for premixing fuel and oxidizer to form a flammable mixture to be supplied to a reaction zone for a combustion reaction [paragraph 0010], the mixer configured to reduce formation of a pollutant when the fuel and the oxidizer are combusted; and a flame arrestor (see reproduced figure 1, below) for deterring upstream propagation of the combustion reaction out of the reaction zone [paragraph 0012, 0025].
With respect to claim 26, Chen discloses: A method for premixing fuel and oxidizer in a burner to form a flammable mixture to be supplied to a reaction zone for a combustion reaction, the burner configured to reduce formation of a pollutant when the fuel and the oxidizer are combusted while deterring upstream propagation of the combustion reaction out of the reaction zone, the method comprising: introducing fuel and oxidizer to a mixer (see reproduced figure 1, below) for premixing the fuel and the oxidizer to form a flammable mixture to be supplied to a reaction zone for a combustion reaction [paragraph 0010]; and introducing the fuel and the oxidizer to a flame arrestor for deterring upstream propagation of the combustion reaction out of the reaction zone [pargraph 0012, 0025].
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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) 2-10, 13, 15-25 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen et al [20200156025], further in view of Stilger et al [5320518].
With respect to claims 2-10, 13, 15-25, 28-30 Chen discloses the invention as substantially claimed, however does not show certain details of the packing volumes as further claimed.
Stilger makes up for these deficiencies by teaching:
{cl. 2} The burner as recited in claim 1, wherein the mixer (104) and the flame arrestor (100) occupy the same volume [see FIG 13].
{cl. 3} The burner as recited in claim 1, further comprising first packing in the first packing volume and second packing in the second packing volume [col 18, line 33-49].
{cl. 4} The burner as recited in claim 3, wherein at least one of the first packing or the second packing comprises random packing [col 11, line 63-col 12, line 8].
{cl. 5} The burner as recited in claim 4, wherein the random packing comprises a plurality of at least one of Pall rings or Raschig rings [col 11, line 63-col 12, line 8].
{cl. 6} The burner as recited in claim 3, wherein at least one of the first packing or the second packing comprises structured packing [col 17, line 54-col 18, line 11].
{cl. 7} The burner as recited in claim 6, wherein the structured packing comprises a plurality of rigid flow channels (96) [see FIG 13].
{cl. 8} The burner as recited in claim 1, wherein the fuel comprises at least one of a flammable gas, a flammable liquid, or a flammable solid [see abstract].
{cl. 9} The burner as recited in claim 1, wherein the oxidizer comprises at least one of ambient air or oxygen from a pressurized oxygen source [col 8, line 19-27].
{cl. 10} The burner as recited in claim 1, wherein the oxidizer comprises a vitiated oxidizer [col 8, line 19-27].
{cl. 13} The method as recited in claim 11, wherein the oxidizer comprises vitiated oxidizer [col 11, line 35-48].
{cl. 15} The burner as recited in claim 14, wherein the mixer (104) and the flame arrestor (100) occupy the same volume [see FIG 13].
{cl. 16} The burner as recited in claim 15, wherein the mixer and the flame arrestor include a packing volume [col 18, line 33-49].
{cl. 17} The burner as recited in claim 14, wherein the mixer and the flame arrestor include: a first packing volume for containing first packing, a second packing volume for containing second packing, a packing gap in fluid communication between the first packing volume and the second packing volume [col 11, line 63-col 12, line 8].
{cl. 18} The burner as recited in claim 17, further comprising first packing in the first packing volume and second packing in the second packing volume [col 11, line 63-col 12, line 8].
{cl. 19} The burner as recited in claim 18, wherein at least one of the first packing or the second packing comprises random packing [col 11, line 63-col 12, line 8].
{cl. 20} The burner as recited in claim 19, wherein the random packing comprises a plurality of at least one of Pall rings or Raschig rings [col 11, line 63-col 12, line 8].
{cl. 21} The burner as recited in claim 18, wherein at least one of the first packing or the second packing comprises structured packing [col 17, line 54-col 18, line 11].
{cl. 22} The burner as recited in claim 21, wherein the structured packing comprises a plurality of rigid flow channels (96) [see FIG 13].
{cl. 23} The burner as recited in claim 14, wherein the fuel comprises at least one of a flammable gas, a flammable liquid, or a flammable solid [see abstract].
{cl. 24} The burner as recited in claim 14, wherein the oxidizer comprises at least one of ambient air or oxygen from a pressurized oxygen source [col 8, line 19-27].
{cl. 25} The burner as recited in claim 14, wherein the oxidizer comprises a vitiated oxidizer [col 8, line 19-27].
{cl. 28} The method as recited in claim 26, wherein the oxidizer comprises vitiated oxidizer [col 8, line 19-27].
{cl. 29} The method as recited in claim 26, wherein introducing the fuel and the oxidizer to a mixer and introducing the fuel and the oxidizer to a flame arrestor comprise introducing the fuel and the oxidizer to a packing volume [col 11, line 63-col 12, line 8].
{cl. 30} The method as recited in claim 29, wherein introducing the fuel and the oxidizer to a packing volume comprises: introducing the fuel and the oxidizer to a first packing volume containing first packing; introducing the fuel and the oxidizer to a packing gap downstream of the first packing volume; and introducing the fuel and the oxidizer to a second packing volume containing second packing downstream of the packing gap [col 11, line 63-col 12, line 8].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the invention of Chen to incorporate the packings of Stilger because Stilger provides a known arrangement that provides for proper reactions of burner components for efficient combustion.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 12 and 27 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. The prior art does not show bypassing of the fuel mixture from packings.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Thomas et al [20070113476] is considered relevant art for similar teachings of a burner having a mixing packing (6) and a flame arrestor packing (12 [see FIG 1, paragraph 0025-0026].
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/AVINASH A SAVANI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3762
1/20/2026