CTNF 18/565,806 CTNF 88527 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 § 102 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-15-aia AIA Claim(s) 7 and 10-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by JPS6197069A to Yamagishi . In reference to independent claim 7, Yamagishi discloses: A coating drier facility (see Fig. 3), comprising: a drier chamber (1) configured to dry a coated object; a heater (9, 13) for heating air; an air supplier (14) for supplying the air heated by the heater into the drier chamber; and an air collector (5) for collecting air from the drier chamber, the heater including: a heat exchanger (13) configured to heat a portion of the air that the air collector has collected; and a combustion chamber (9) configured to combust a remaining portion (6) of the air that the air collector has collected to decompose a volatile substance in the remaining portion, the coating drier facility further comprising: a first heat receiver (3) for recovering heat from exhaust gas from the combustion chamber; and a second heat receiver (17) for recovering heat from exhaust gas from the first heat receiver, the first heat receiver being configured to preheat the remaining portion (6) before the combustion chamber combusts the remaining portion. In reference to dependent claim 10, Yamagishi further discloses: the heater further includes: a fuel amount adjusting mechanism (8); and a combustion air amount adjusting mechanism (not shown, see Fig. 3; combustor 9 has a burner for burning fuel from a fuel supply 8, a heat exchanger 10 is provided for heating the air supplied to the combustor 9 ). In reference to dependent claim 11, Yamagishi further discloses: the combustion air amount adjusting mechanism (see rejection of claim 10 above) adjusts an internal temperature of a combustion treatment furnace of the heater so that the internal temperature is within a predetermined range (this is inherently the function accomplished by supplying air and fuel to the combustor 9). In reference to dependent claim 12, Yamagishi further discloses: an outside air receiver (12) for introducing outside air (from outside air introduction duct 15 and blower 16) into the drier chamber, the outside air receiver including an outside air introducing amount adjusting mechanism (16). In reference to dependent claim 13, Yamagishi further discloses: the second heat receiver (17) is configured to preheat the outside air (from outside air introduction duct 15, see Fig. 3) that the outside air receiver has introduced. In reference to dependent claim 14, Yamagishi further discloses: the heater further includes a combustion air amount adjusting mechanism (not shown, see Fig. 3; combustor 9 has a burner for burning fuel from a fuel supply 8, a heat exchanger 10 is provided for heating the air supplied to the combustor 9 ). Yamagishi is silent regarding the coating drier facility controls the outside air introducing amount adjusting mechanism and the combustion air amount adjusting mechanism so that respective amounts of the outside air and combustion air are substantially equal to each other. It is noted that while features of an apparatus may be recited either structurally or functionally, claim 10 is directed to an apparatus and must be distinguished from the prior art in terms of structure rather than function. A claim containing a “recitation with respect to the manner in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus” if the prior art apparatus teaches all the structural limitations of the claim. See MPEP 2114. The recitations of claim 10, i.e. “the coating drier facility controls the outside air introducing amount adjusting mechanism and the combustion air amount adjusting mechanism so that respective amounts of the outside air and combustion air are substantially equal to each other”, attempt to define the invention by what it does rather than what it is. Yamagishi discloses all of the claim elements of current invention and is capable of performing the recited functions . 07-15-aia AIA Claim(s) 8 and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by US4255132A to Carthew . In reference to independent claim 8, Carthew discloses: A coating drier facility (10), comprising: a drier chamber (12) configured to dry a coated object; a heater (36) for heating air; an air supplier (20, 24) for supplying the air heated by the heater into the drier chamber; and an air collector (18) for collecting air from the drier chamber, the heater (36) including: a heat exchanger (36) configured to heat a portion of the air that the air collector has collected; and a combustion chamber (38) configured to combust a remaining portion of the air that the air collector has collected to decompose a volatile substance in the remaining portion, the heater (36) including a combustion air amount adjusting mechanism (32, 42, 68) configured to adjust an internal temperature of a combustion treatment furnace of the heater so that the internal temperature is within a predetermined range. In reference to dependent claim 9, Carthew further discloses: the predetermined range is from 800 0 C to 1000 0 C (see col. 4 at lines 29-30). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Ngoc T Nguyen whose telephone number is (571)272-7176. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00 am - 5:00 pm. 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, Steve 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. 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. /NGOC T NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3799 Application/Control Number: 18/565,806 Page 2 Art Unit: 3799 Application/Control Number: 18/565,806 Page 3 Art Unit: 3799
Prosecution Insights