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 .
Interview Attempt
Examiner called Applicant’s representative Jason Scher on August 13 and 17, 2026 and left voicemails to propose an Examiner’s Amendment to put this case in condition for allowance. No response was received.
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 24 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being clearly anticipated by Lovett et al. (US Patent 5,943,866).
Regarding claim 24, Lovett discloses combustor assembly (col. 1, l. 22), comprising:
a combustion liner (Figure 1, 26c) at least partially defining a combustion chamber (downstream end of 26); and
a gaseous fuel nozzle assembly (28 and 28b) that delivers hydrogen fuel (col. 1, ll. 51-52 describes methane, a hydrogen fuel) to the combustion chamber (Figure 1 shows the gaseous fuel nozzle assembly 28 and 28b delivers fuel to the combustion chamber 26) and comprises a plurality of mixing tubes (30), each of the plurality of mixing tubes comprising:
an air flow passage (38) terminating in a mixing tube outlet (30b) fluidly coupled to the combustion chamber (Figure 1),
a gaseous fuel orifice (40a and 40b) fluidly coupled to the air flow passage (Figure 2), and
a turbulator (42a and 42b) disposed at least partially upstream of the gaseous fuel orifice (Figure 2 shows the upstream end of the turbulators are upstream of the gaseous fuel orifices on the respective turbulator); and
a nozzle mixing chamber (upstream end of 26 at 26b) disposed at and fluidly coupled with the mixing tube outlets of the plurality of mixing tubes (Figure 1),
wherein a distance between the gaseous fuel orifice and the mixing tube outlet defines a mixing length (X2 and X1), wherein a first mixing tube (lower 30 in figure 1) of the plurality of mixing tubes has a first mixing length (X2) and a second mixing tube (upper 30 in figure 1) of the plurality of mixing tubes has a second mixing length (X1), which is different from the first mixing length (Figure 1 shows the difference as S), and wherein the first mixing tube and the second mixing tube are radially offset (Figure 1 shows the first mixing tube is radially closer to the axial centerline of 18 than the second mixing tube), and
wherein the plurality of mixing tubes is arranged in sets (col. 3, ll. 23-40 describes a plurality of mixing tubes in sets) including a first set of mixing tubes (28b) and a second set of mixing tubes (28a), the first set of mixing tubes being radially closer to a centerline of the gaseous fuel nozzle assembly (18) than the second set of mixing tubes (Figure 1).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1, 3-16, and 21-23 are allowed.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 6/15/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues on page 9 of the Remarks that new claim 24 recites aspects of the subject matter indicated as allowable in claims 2 and 15; however, the combination of elements recited in claim 24 does not include all the limitations required to find those previous claims allowable. Therefore, claim 24 is rejected above.
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 Katheryn Malatek whose telephone number is (571)272-5689. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday, 9 am - 6 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, Devon Kramer can be reached at (571) 272-7118. 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.
/KATHERYN A MALATEK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3741
Prosecution Insights