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 .
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 27-28 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 27 requires “a comburent supply conduit” in line 6, “a supply conduit” in line 11, “said supply conduit” in lines 21, 23, and 25. It is unclear if “a supply conduit” and “said supply conduit” the same or different from the “a comburent supply conduit” claimed in line 6. For the purposes of examination “a supply conduit” and “said supply conduit” is interpreted as “a comburent supply conduit” and “said supply conduit”.
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) 27 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Batz et. al (US 2016/0076763 A1).
With respect to claim 27 Batz discloses an end apparatus [see Fig. 3] for a burner configured to generate a flame, comprising: a combustion head [reference character 200] connectable to supply means for supplying a fuel and having at least one inlet opening [see annotated Fig. below, where the inlet opening feeds plenum 62] adapted to enable a fuel to enter [see paragraph 0080], and a plurality of outlet openings [outlet 23 in nozzle 22, see Figs. 3 and 5], adapted to enable an outflow of fuel; a comburent supply conduit [reference character 12, the air is supplied through clearance duct 13] configured to convey a comburent [see paragraph 0080] to said combustion head and extending between a comburent introduction opening [reference character 63] and an emission opening [at reference character 15] along a main extension direction [the central longitudinal axis of the burner head]; wherein said combustion head is at least partially inserted into said supply conduit [the partially inserted portion being reference characters 11,14,16, and 17], at the emission opening, so as to define a passage gap [see annotated Fig. below] between said combustion head and said supply conduit for a flow of comburent; characterized in that said combustion head comprises: a plurality of outer openings [the openings in reference character 212] arranged outside said passage gap according to a direction that is radial to said main extension direction and configured to emit a first flow of fuel [see paragraph 0075] outside said flow of a comburent; and a plurality of inner openings [the openings in reference character 17, see paragraph 0058, and the openings in reference character 14, see Fig. 4] arranged at and/or inside said passage gap according to a direction that is radial to said main extension direction, said inner openings being adapted to introduce a second flow of fuel [via reference character 11] inside said flow of a comburent. Batz further discloses that said combustion head comprises a central body [reference characters 11, 14, 16, and 17] at least partially inserted into said supply conduit and extending between a first end [see annotated Fig. below], defining said inlet opening [see Fig. 3], and a second end [at reference character 15] along an extension direction [see annotated Fig. below]; said second end defining with said supply conduit at least partially said passage gap (9). Finally, Batz discloses that said combustion head (2) comprises at least one inner nozzle [reference character 17] arranged inside said supply conduit (5) and interposed between said central body (13) and said supply conduit (5) [see annotated Fig. below].
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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) 28 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Batz et. al (US 2016/0076763 A1) in view of Braig et. al (US 11,187,407).
With respect to claim 28 Blatz discloses the end apparatus of claim 27.
Blatz does not disclose a suction means configured to suck at least an amount of comburent from an environment outside said burner and to move said at least an amount of comburent from said second introduction opening to said second emission opening.
Braig discloses a burner head [reference character 16] that is provided with air via a fan [column 7 lines 35-42].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the filing date of the invention to modify the burner taught by Blatz by using a fan to provide forced air to the burner, as taught by Braig, in order to ensure that there is always an adequate supply of combustion air to the burner.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1,3-6,8,10-15 and 17-26 are allowed.
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 VIVEK K SHIRSAT whose telephone number is (571)272-3722. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00AM-5:20AM.
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, Steven B McAllister can be reached at 571-272-6785. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/VIVEK K SHIRSAT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3762
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