DETAILED ACTION
Response to Amendment
A Reply was filed 14 May 2026. All amendments therein have been entered. Claims 1-3 and 5-48 are pending. Claims 8-20, 22-24, 34-41, and 45-47 are withdrawn. Thus, claims 1-3, 5-7, 21, 25-33, 42-44, and 48 are further examined herein.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(b)
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.
Claims 1-3, 5-7, 21, 25-33, 42-44, and 48 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor regards as the invention.
Claims 1 and 27
The phrase “through the fuel coating along the inward radial direction referenced to a center of the fuel kernel” (e.g., lines 9-10 in claim 1) is unclear. First, the phrase wording “the fuel coating” (line 9) lacks proper antecedent basis. Second, the phrase wording “the inward radial direction” (line 9) lacks proper antecedent basis. Third, the phrase wording “referenced to a center of the fuel kernel” is unclear in its meaning. For example, it is unclear what purpose is intended by use of the wording “referenced to” when referring to the fuel kernel center. It is unclear whether said phrase should be interpreted as “through the fuel coating layer along an inward radial direction from an outer surface of the fuel coating layer toward a center of the fuel kernel”.
Claims 5 and 31
The phrase “along an outward radial direction referenced to the center of the fuel kernel” is unclear in its meaning. It is unclear what purpose is intended by use of the wording “referenced to” when referring to the fuel kernel center. It is unclear whether said phrase should be interpreted as “along an outward radial direction away from the center of the fuel kernel”.
Claims 26 and 44
It would appear that every fuel coating layer will have a (single) coating layer. Even a plurality of fuel coating layers will have a (single) coating layer. Thus, it is unclear how the subject matter of these claims further limits a prior claim. Perhaps Applicant intended to recite “further comprising a fuel coating, wherein the fuel coating comprises a plurality of fuel coating layers, wherein the plurality of fuel coating layers include the fuel coating layer”.
Claim 30
The recited subject matter is already in claim 27. Thus, it is unclear how the subject matter of claim 30 further limits the particle of claim 27. Note prior claim 4.
Review
The claims do not allow the public to be sufficiently informed of what would constitute infringement. Since claims can be interpreted differently, they are prima facie indefinite. Any claim not specifically addressed is rejected based upon its dependency.
Objection to the 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 or the feature(s) must be canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
The following recited features are not shown:
void volume fraction of the fuel coating layer increases approximately linearly through the fuel coating [layer] along an inward radial direction (claims 1 and 27).
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.
Objection to the Title
The Title is objected to because it is not reflective of the currently recited invention. Correction is required. The following Title is suggested:
“Nuclear Fuel Kernel Coating Comprises A Porous Material That Is Functionally Graded In Density With A Void Volume Fraction Of The Coating Increasing Linearly In A Radially Inward Direction Through The Coating”.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejections.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-3, 5-7, 21, 25-33, 42-44, and 48 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) set forth in this Office action and (if necessary) include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Withdrawn claims that depend on independent claims 1 or 27 should be reviewed, especially for compliance with 35 U.S.C. 112(b).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Prosecution on the merits is closed. 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 will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
RCE Eligibility
Since prosecution is closed, this application is now eligible for a request for continued examination (RCE) under 37 CFR 1.114. Filing an RCE helps to ensure entry of an amendment to the claims and/or the specification.
Contact Information
Examiner Daniel Wasil can be reached at (571) 272-4654, on Monday-Thursday from 10:00-4:00 EST. Supervisor Jack Keith (SPE) can be reached at (571) 272-6878.
/DANIEL WASIL/
Examiner, Art Unit 3646
Reg. No. 45,303
/JACK W KEITH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3646
Prosecution Insights