CTNF 18/526,791 CTNF 74127 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-23-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 1,2, 5-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Canadian reference(CA2224389C) taken together with Hill et al(9605846) . Canadian reference in figure 1 teaches a natural-gas dehydration system comprising: a triethylene glycol (TEG) regeneration still column(TEG still column 9) to receive rich TEG, discharge water vapor overhead, and discharge lean TEG(dry glycol line 28) from a reboiler vessel (reboiler tank means 11) for feed to a contactor column(absorber means 1), wherein the TEG regeneration still column has a fired- heater reboiler(glycol reboiler means 8) comprising a burner(burner 13) and the reboiler vessel(reboiler tank means 11); a fuel control valve(motor valve means 90) to control flow rate of fuel to the burner(page 10 stating “from regulator means 88, the fuel gas flows through line 89 to motor valve means 90”); a control system to adjust automatically a fuel set point of the fuel control valve (page 10 stating “motor valve means 90 is controlled by thermostat means 92 mounted in tank means 11 of reboiler means 8. Thermostat means 92 senses the temperature of the glycol in tank means 11 and through line 91 sends a signal to motor valve means 90 to increase or decrease the fuel gas flow through line 95 to the main burner of burner means 13”) , examiner noting thermostat means 92 includes a sensor and also includes a control structure) to control TEG bath temperature in the reboiler vessel, control weight percent of oxygen gas in stack effluent from the burner, and maintain weight ratio of the air to the fuel at a specified weight ratio; a temperature sensor at the reboiler vessel(temperature sensor part of thermostat means 92; noting page 11 stating “thermostat means senses the temperature of the glycol in tank means 11”) to measure the TEG bath temperature; and a temperature transmitter(temperature transmitter inherent structure as part of thermostat means 92) to indicate the TEG bath temperature as measured by the temperature sensor to the control system. Canadian reference is silent as to an air control valve to control flow rate of air to the burner, and the control system to adjust automatically an air set point of the air control valve. Hill et al in figure 1 teaches a natural gas dehydration system(12) including a TEG regeneration still column(still column 14), the still column including a fired heater reboiler(reboiler 16) including a burner(burner assembly 19) and a reboiler vessel, a fuel control valve(control valve 22) to control flow rate of fuel(from fuel gas line 21 and fuel inlet 61) to the burner , an air control valve(part of air/gas mixer 19b for air inlet 63) to control flow rate of air to the burner. It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide an air inlet structure and air control valve structure in connection with the fuel control valve(motor valve 90) of Canadian reference in order to provide valve control of air and valve control of fuel gas to a burner connected to a reboiler. Examiner respectfully submits that someone of ordinary skill in the art would also provide control structure from the thermostat means(92) of Canadian reference to both the air control valve and fuel control valve in order to provide for automatically setting an air set point and a fuel set point upstream of the burner of Canadian reference. Examiner notes the limitations “to control TEG bath temperature in the reboiler vessel, control weight percent of oxygen gas in stack effluent from the burner, and maintain weight ratio of the air to the fuel at a specified weight ratio” are not given patentable weight for prior art analysis, wherein patentability is based on a prior art reference teaching a control system to adjust automatically an air set point of the air control valve and a fuel set point of the fuel control valve, wherein the control system is mapped to the thermostat 92 of Canadian reference, and wherein any prior art control system is expected to include control structure to control TEG bath temperature in the reboiler vessel, control weight percent of oxygen gas in stack effluent from the burner, and maintain weight ratio of the air to the fuel at a specified weight ratio. Examiner notes that a claim is required to specifically state “programmed to” limitations along with control limitations to require patentable weight, along with support for “programmed to” in the specification. Examiner also notes an exhaust stack for providing stack effluent is not specifically recited as part of the system of claim 1, and an oxygen analyzer for measuring oxygen gas concentration in the stack effluent is not specifically recited as part of the system of claim 1. With regards to claim 2, Canadian reference(CA2224389C) taken together with Hill et al further teaches wherein the control system to control the TEG bath temperature per a temperature set point and control the weight percent of oxygen gas in the stack effluent to a specified weight-percent range, and wherein the fuel comprises natural gas. With regards to claim 5, Canadian reference(CA2224389C) taken together with Hill et al further teaches a fuel flow meter(regulator means 88 of Canadian reference) to measure the flow rate of the fuel to the burner; and an instrument transmitter to indicate the flow rate of the fuel as measured by the fuel flow meter to the control system (page 10 of Canadian reference stating “regulator means 88 controls the fuel gas pressure at 6 to 10 psig flowing to the main burner of burner means 13”, wherein examiner notes a statement of 6 to 10 psig inherently requires measurement structure to measure the flow rate of the fuel, and inherently requires an instrument transmitter to indicate the flow rate of the fuel as measured by the fuel flow meter to the control system). With regards to claim 6, Canadian reference(CA2224389C) taken together with Hill et al further teaches wherein the control system to automatically adjust the air set point and the fuel set point is in response to the TEG bath temperature as measured and in response to the weight percent of oxygen gas in the stack effluent as measured, wherein the air set point comprises an air flow-rate set point or an air pressure set point, and wherein the fuel set point comprises a fuel flow-rate set point or a fuel pressure set point. With regards to claim 7, Canadian reference(CA2224389C) taken together with Hill et al further teaches wherein the control system to maintain the weight ratio of the air to the fuel at the specified weight ratio in the control of the TEG bath temperature and in the control of the weight percent of the oxygen gas in the stack effluent . Allowable Subject Matter 12-151-08 AIA 07-43 12-51-08 Claim s 3 and 4 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. Claim 3 recites “an oxygen analyzer to measure the weight percent of oxygen gas in the stack effluent; and an instrument transmitter to indicate the weight percent of the oxygen gas as measured by the oxygen analyzer to the control system.”. Canadian reference(CA2224389C) taken together with Hill et al teaches a stack effluent(stack structure shown but not specifically identified in figure 1 of Canadian reference), however Canadian reference(CA2224389C) taken together with Hill et al does not teach or suggest an oxygen analyzer to measure the weight percent of oxygen gas in the stack effluent; and an instrument transmitter to indicate the weight percent of the oxygen gas as measured by the oxygen analyzer to the control system. Claim 4 recites “an air flow meter to measure the flow rate of the air to the burner; and an instrument transmitter to indicate the flow rate of the air as measure by the air flow meter to the control system”. Canadian reference(CA2224389C) taken together with Hill et al teaches an air control valve to control flow rate of air to a burner, however Canadian reference(CA2224389C) taken together with Hill et al does not teach or suggest an air flow meter to measure the flow rate of the air to the burner; and an instrument transmitter to indicate the flow rate of the air as measure by the air flow meter to the control system. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ROBERT A HOPKINS whose telephone number is (571)272-1159. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thurs 6am-4pm. 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, Jennifer Dieterle can be reached at 5712707872. 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. /ROBERT A HOPKINS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1776 June 3, 2026 Application/Control Number: 18/526,791 Page 2 Art Unit: 1776 Application/Control Number: 18/526,791 Page 3 Art Unit: 1776 Application/Control Number: 18/526,791 Page 4 Art Unit: 1776 Application/Control Number: 18/526,791 Page 5 Art Unit: 1776 Application/Control Number: 18/526,791 Page 6 Art Unit: 1776 Application/Control Number: 18/526,791 Page 7 Art Unit: 1776 Application/Control Number: 18/526,791 Page 8 Art Unit: 1776
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