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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-3, 11 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Ishii et al [WO2023062876].
With respect to claim 1, Ishii discloses: A combined combustion burner comprising [see FIG 3]: a center tube (42a) forming a center passage configured to supply cooling air [page 4, second paragraph starting with “Air is supplied into the main body 42a…”]; a fuel tube (43a) surrounding the center tube and forming a fuel passage through which premixed fuel mixed with solid fuel and primary air is sprayed [page 4, fifth paragraph starting with “Pulverized coal is supplied from a pulverized coal supply source…”]; a secondary tube (51) surrounding the fuel tube and forming a secondary passage through which secondary air is sprayed [page 4, seventh paragraph starting with “As indicated by arrow A4…”]; and an additional spray nozzle (41) inserted inside the center tube and configured to spray auxiliary fuel containing ammonia [page 3, third paragraph starting with “The ammonia injection nozzle 41…”].
Ishii further discloses:
{cl. 2} The combined combustion burner of claim 1, wherein the additional spray nozzle is configured to spray the auxiliary fuel to an inner side of a space where the secondary air is sprayed [page 3, sixth paragraph starting with “Ammonia is supplied from the ammonia tank 6…].
{cl. 3} The combined combustion burner of claim 1, wherein the additional spray nozzle is configured to spray the auxiliary fuel to an inner side of a space where the premixed fuel is sprayed [page 3, sixth paragraph starting with “Ammonia is supplied from the ammonia tank 6…].
{cl. 11} The combined combustion burner of claim 2, wherein an auxiliary spray member configured to spray ammonia fuel containing ammonia in a gaseous state into the fuel passage is mounted in the fuel passage [page 3, seventh paragraph with reference to ” Vaporized ammonia is supplied to the ammonia injection nozzle 41 .”].
With respect to claim 19, Ishii discloses: A combustion apparatus comprising [see FIGs 3 and 9]: a furnace (2) forming a combustion space [see FIG 1, page 2, fifth paragraph starting with “Furnace 2 is a furnace…]; and a burner (4) comprising a plurality of burners mounted in the furnace [see FIG 1, pages 2-3, last paragraph starting with “The burner 4 is provided…”], wherein the burner comprises: a center tube (42a) forming a center passage configured to supply cooling air [page 4, second paragraph starting with “Air is supplied into the main body 42a…”]; a fuel tube (43a) surrounding the center tube and forming a fuel passage through which premixed fuel mixed with solid fuel and primary air is sprayed [page 4, fifth paragraph starting with “Pulverized coal is supplied from a pulverized coal supply source…”]; a secondary tube (51) surrounding the fuel tube and forming a secondary passage through which secondary air is sprayed [page 4, seventh paragraph starting with “As indicated by arrow A4…”]; and an additional spray nozzle (41) inserted inside the center tube and configured to spray auxiliary fuel containing ammonia [page 3, third paragraph starting with “The ammonia injection nozzle 41…”].
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) 5-7 and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ishii et al [WO2023062876], further in view of Tominaga et al [W)2023120393].
With respect to claims 5-7 and 12, Ishii discloses the invention as substantially claimed, however does not show certain details of the ammonia spray nozzle.
Tominaga makes up for these deficiencies by teaching:
{cl. 5} The combined combustion burner of claim 1, wherein the additional spray nozzle is mounted such that ammonia is sprayed to a recirculation area [see FIG 3, page 5, third paragraph starting with “High-temperature combustion gas generated…”].
{cl. 6} The combined combustion burner of claim 1, wherein a discharge portion inclined with respect to a longitudinal direction of the additional spray nozzle is formed on the additional spray nozzle [see FIG 3].
{cl. 7} The combined combustion burner of claim 6, wherein a spray port (52h) through which the auxiliary fuel is sprayed is formed on the additional spray nozzle, and the spray port is formed such that a normal direction of the spray port is inclined with respect to a radial direction of the additional spray nozzle [see FIGs 1-3].
{cl. 12} The combined combustion burner of claim 11, wherein the auxiliary spray member is formed in a ring shape, comprises a plurality of spray holes (52h) configured to spray the ammonia fuel, and comprises a distribution passage that extends along a circumferential direction of the auxiliary spray member [see FIG 1].
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the invention of Ishii to include the nozzle outlet as provided by Tominaga because Tominaga shows that the arrangement allows for sufficient mixing to ensure proper combustion.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4, 8, 10, 13-18 and 20 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 claims show clear differences in the prior art and if modified to arrive at the claims would require hindsight reasoning as the prior art has a different way of providing the structure of the burner apparatus.
Conclusion
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/AVINASH A SAVANI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3762
6/16/2026
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