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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 7/28/2026 has been entered.
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 1-7, 9, 12-16 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.
Regarding Claim 1, the recitation of “along which is refrigerant supplied to the heat exchanger is circulated” in lines 15-16 renders indefinite the metes and bounds sought for protection of the claim. In the instant case, the claim recites both an apparatus and process in the same claim. Per MPEP 2173.05(p): “[a] single claim which claims both an apparatus and the method steps of using the apparatus is indefinite under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, second paragraph.” This limitation is also considered indefinite as it is unclear if the refrigerant is required to be able to be circulated to the heat exchanger. For the purpose of examination, this limitation is understood that there is a refrigeration circulation line which is configured to circulate a refrigerant to the heat exchanger.
Regarding Claim 1, the recitation of “along which is refrigerant supplied to the heat exchanger is circulated” in lines 15-16 renders indefinite the metes and bounds sought for protection of the claim. In the instant case, the claim recites both an apparatus and process in the same claim. Per MPEP 2173.05(p): “[a] single claim which claims both an apparatus and the method steps of using the apparatus is indefinite under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, second paragraph.” This limitation is also considered indefinite as it is unclear if the refrigerant is required to be able to be circulated to the heat exchanger. For the purpose of examination, this limitation is understood that there is a refrigeration circulation line which is configured to circulate a refrigerant to the heat exchanger.
Claim 1 recites “the boil-off gas compressed in the front compression section” which lacks antecedent basis in the claim. For the purpose of examination, this limitation is understood that boil-off gas is compressed in the front compression section.
Claim 1 recites “to the fuel supply pressure required for the propulsion engine” in lines 20-21 which is considered indefinite as it is unclear how it relates to the limitation of “a fuel supply pressure required for the propulsion engine” already required in claim 1. For the purpose of examination, this limitation is considered to be a repeated limitation.
Claim 1, lines 25-40 in their entirety, are considered indefinite as they recite both an apparatus and process in the same claim. Per MPEP 2173.05(p): “[a] single claim which claims both an apparatus and the method steps of using the apparatus is indefinite under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, second paragraph.” For the purpose of examination, these limitations are understood that the system is only required to be configured to operate in this way.
Claim 1, line 32 recites “is supplied to the heat exchanger to cool the surplus portion of the boil off gas compressed in the front compression section for reliquefaction” which is considered indefinite as it is unclear what is required by the limitation. For the purpose of examination, this limitation is understood that the system is configured to pass the surplus potion of the compressed boil-off gas to the heat exchanger as part of the liquefaction process.
Claim 10 recites “the boil-off gas compressed in the front compression section” which lacks antecedent basis in the claim. For the purpose of examination, this limitation is understood that boil-off gas is compressed in the front compression section.
Claim 10, lines 30-32 recites “wherein the first compressor is operated such that a first portion of the boil-off gas compressed in the front compression section is supplied to the rear compression section to be supplied to the propulsion engine” but it is unclear how this relates to the previously recited “the boil-off gas compressed in the front compression section and “the first compressor being configured to compress the received boil-off gas to a fuel supply pressure required for the propulsion engine. For the purpose of examination, this limitation is understood to be a positive recitation that such previous step happens during the first operation mode.
Claim 13 recites “in the second operation mode, the first compressor is not operated” which is considered indefinite as it is unclear how it relates to the limitation of “a fuel supply pressure required for the propulsion engine” already required in claim 1. For the purpose of examination, this limitation is understood to be that the first compressor is configured to not be operated.
Claims 2-7, 9, 12, 14-16 are rejected as being dependent upon a rejected claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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) 1, 3, 10, 12-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee (US PG Pub 20180327056), hereinafter referred to as Lee and Shin et al. (KR20180092120), hereinafter referred to as Shin and Li et al. (CN112648530A), hereinafter referred to as Li.
With respect to claim 1, Lee (Figure 1 is a liquefaction system on a vessel that is either anchored or navigating, paragraphs 53-54, and thus a ship) teaches a boil-off gas treatment system of a ship for supplying boil-off gas generated in a storage tank as fuel to a propulsion engine and an engine supplied with fuel at a lower pressure than the propulsion engine, and for reliquefying surplus boil-off gas, the system comprising:
a first compressor and a second compressor (210, 220, paragraph 45), each of which is fluidly connected to the storage tank to receive at least a portion of the boil-off gas generated in the storage tank (both compressors receive evaporated gas from the storage tank 100, paragraph 48);
the first compressor configured to compress the received boil-off gas to a fuel supply pressure required for the propulsion engine (210 provides compression to bring the pressure of the gas to high-pressure so that it can be passed to the ME-GI engine, paragraph 56, which is a type of propulsion engine);
the second compressor configured to compress the received boil-off gas to a fuel supply pressure required for an engine, which is lower than that required for the propulsion engine (compressor 220 produces a lesser compressed gas removed at L23 which can then be sent to the DFGE engine which is a lower pressure engine, paragraph 600);
a heat exchanger connected to the first compressor and the second compressor (500 receives boil-off gas from both compressors, paragraph 42);
and a refrigerant circulation line along which a refrigerant supplied to the heat exchanger is circulated (L11 circulates as the refrigerant, paragraph 49),
wherein the first compressor comprises a front compression section and a rear compression section (both compressors have five stages, paragraph 38) configured to further compressor the boil-off gas compressed in the front section to the fuel supply pressure required for the propulsion engine (line L22 connects between a front and rear section of 210 and passes it to the same engine as L23, paragraph 60),
wherein the boil-off gas treatment system is configured to be selectively operated depending on an operation condition of the ship (the system operates differently based on being at anchor or navigation, paragraph 53-56),
in a first operation mode during a period when the ship is underway (normal operation when 210 operating, paragraph 53), the first compressor is operated such that:
a first portion of the boil-off gas compressed in the front compression section is supplied to the rear compression section to be supplied to the propulsion engine (the part passed completely through 210 and to ME-GI),
a second portion of the boil-off gas compressed in the front compression section is supplied to the engine (some boil-off gas can also be sent via L22 to an engine, paragraph 60),
a surplus portion of the boil-off gas compressed in the front compression section is supplied to the heat exchanger configured to cool the surplus portion boil-off gas compressed in the front compression section for reliquefaction (the portion recycled back to 500 that is first compressed in the first part of 210 but also compressed in the second part of 210, paragraph 56, which can be considered the surplus portion)
in a second operation mode during a period when the ship is at anchor (when the ship is at anchor and only the extra compression unit is operated, or the first one cannot be used, paragraph 39), the second compressor is operated such that:
a portion of the boil-off gas compressed by the second compressor is supplied to the heat exchanger configured to cool the surplus portion of the boil-off gas compressed by the second compressor for liquefaction (the boil-off gas that is reliquefied when at anchor, paragraph 53).
Lee does not explicitly teach that the engine that receives fuel via lines L22 and L23 is a power generation engine as best understood in view of the invention; however, it is likely that such an engine can be considered a power generation engine.
Shin teaches that a second engine which boil-off gas that has been partially compressed is passed to on a ship can be a power generation engine (paragraph 49).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the invention was filed to have in Lee provided via lines L22 and/or L23 the boil-off gas that is partially compressed in the compressors to a power generation engine on the ship based on the teaching of Shin since it has been shown to be obvious to combine prior art elements to yield predictable results is obvious whereby providing a power generation engine fed by the boil-off gas would be common knowledge in the art of being able to power the ships systems by compressing the available boil-off gas.
During the second operation mode when the ship is at anchor, Lee as modified does not teach the power generation engine receives boil-off gas from the second compressor such that it is the surplus boil-off gas that is generated that is reliquefied.
Li teaches that when a ship is at anchor the main engine stops running and the power generation engine is operated and BOG is passed to the power generation engine via a compressor (page 4 of translation).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have based on the teaching of Li to have when the ship of Lee as modified is at anchor to have still operated one of the low-pressure engines as a power generation engine and thus received boil-off gas via the second compressor since it has been shown that combining prior art elements to yield predictable results is obvious whereby operating the power generation engine at anchor would provide the predictable result that would be common knowledge in the art of being able to provide power to the ships operating systems to maintain operations of the ship. This modification is only to continue to operate an engine during anchor, which would have additional boil-off gas sent there, but it does not change the operations already present in Lee of sending gas for reliquefaction with the reliquefied gas can be considered surplus.
With respect to claim 3, Lee as modified teaches a boil-off gas supply line connecting the storage tank to the first compressors and the second compressor through the heat exchanger (boil-off gas is passed from 100 via L11 to the compressors, paragraph 49),
a first supply line disposed downstream of the first compressor and connected to the propulsion engine (the line from the end of 210 to ME-GI engine),
a reliquefaction line connecting the front compression section of the first compressor and the second compressor to the storage tank through the heat exchanger (L40, paragraph 56).
With respect to claim 10, Lee teaches (Figure 1 is a liquefaction system on a vessel that is either anchored or navigating, paragraphs 53-54, and thus a ship) boil-off gas treatment method of a ship for supplying boil- off gas generated in a storage tank as fuel to a propulsion engine and an engine supplied with fuel at a lower pressure than the propulsion engine, and for reliquefying surplus boil- off gas, the ship comprising a first compressor and a second compressor (210, 220, paragraph 4), each of which is fluidly connected to the storage tank to receive at least a portion of the boil-off gas in the storage tank (both compressors receive evaporated gas from the storage tank 100, paragraph 48),
in a first operation mode of the ship during a period when the ship is underway (when the ship is navigating, paragraph 53), the first compressor being configured to compress the received boil-off gas to a fuel supply pressure required for the propulsion engine (210 provides compression to bring the pressure of the gas to high-pressure so that it can be passed to the ME-GI engine, paragraph 56, which is a type of propulsion engine), the first compressor comprising a front compression section and a rear compression section configured to further compress the boil-off gas compressed in the front compression section to the fuel supply pressure required for the propulsion engine both compressors have five stages, paragraph 38, which would have some of the stages be a first section and at least one be a rear section and as seen in the figure, the fully compressed gas from all stages is passed to the end of the compressor which can be considered the end section), and in a second operation mode of the ship during a period when the ship is at anchor, the second compressor being configured to compress the received boil-off gas (when the ship is at anchor and only the extra compression unit is operated, or the first one cannot be used, paragraph 39, which can be the second mode),
a heat exchanger connected to the first compressor and the second compressor (500 receives boil-off gas from both compressors, paragraph 42);
the method comprising:
selectively operating the ship, depending on an operation condition of the ship, in the first operation mode when the ship is underway or a second operation mode when the ship is at anchor (these are the two main modes as described, paragraph 39)
wherein operating in the first operation mode comprises:
compressing the received boil-off gas from the storage tank by the first compressor to generate compressed gas (gas is compressed in 210), and cooling and reliquefying a surplus portion, among the boil-off gas compressed by the first compressor, which is not supplied as fuel to the propulsion engine and the engine through heat exchange in the heat exchanger supplied with a refrigerant circulated along a refrigerant circulation line (the portion recycled back to 500 that is first compressed in the first part of 210 but also compressed in the second part of 210, paragraph 56, which can be considered the surplus portion),
wherein the first compressor is operated such that a first portion of the boil-off gas compressed in the front section is supplied to the rear compression section to be supplied to the propulsion engine (he part passed completely through 210 and to ME-GI), a second portion of the boil-off gas compressed in the front compression section is supplied to the power generation engine (some boil-off gas can also be sent via L2 to an engine paragraph 60), and the surplus portion is supplied to the heat exchanger for reliquefaction (the portion sent through L3);
and wherein operating in the second operation mode comprises:
compressing the receive boil-off gas from the storage tank by the second compressor to generate compressed gas (when at anchor and 220 receives compressed gas),
cooing and reliquefying, the boil-off gas compressed by the second compressor, which is not supplied as fuel to an engine, through heat exchange in the heat exchanger supplied with the refrigerant circulated along the refrigerant circulation line (the boil-off gas is not sent to an engine and is reliquefied when at anchor, paragraph 53).
Lee does not teach an engine connected to L22 and L23 is a power generation engine as best understood in view of the invention; however, it is likely that such an engine can be considered a power generation engine.
Shin teaches that a second engine which boil-off gas that has been partially compressed is passed to on a ship can be a power generation engine (paragraph 49).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the invention was filed to have in Lee provided via lines L22 and/or L23 the boil-off gas that is partially compressed in the compressors to a power generation engine on the ship based on the teaching of Shin since it has been shown to be obvious to combine prior art elements to yield predictable results is obvious whereby providing a power generation engine fed by the boil-off gas would be common knowledge in the art of being able to power the ships systems by compressing the available boil-off gas.
Lee as modified does not teach when the ship is at anchor part of the boil-off gas is passed to the power generation engine with the part being passed to the reliquefaction being a surplus.
Li teaches that when a ship is at anchor the main engine stops running and the power generation engine is operated and BOG is passed to the power generation engine via a compressor (page 4 of translation).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have based on the teaching of Li to have when the ship of Lee as modified is at anchor to have still operated one of the low-pressure engines as a power generation engine and thus received boil-off gas via the second compressor since it has been shown that combining prior art elements to yield predictable results is obvious whereby operating the power generation engine at anchor would provide the predictable result that would be common knowledge in the art of being able to provide power to the ships operating systems to maintain operations of the ship. This modification is only to continue to operate an engine during anchor, which would have additional boil-off gas sent there, but it does not change the operations already present in Lee of sending gas for reliquefaction with the reliquefied gas can be considered surplus.
With respect to claim 12, Lee as modified does not teach wherein the refrigerant circulated along the refrigerant circulation line is compressed by a refrigerant compressor, cooled through the heat exchanger, expanded and cooled by a refrigerant expander and supplied to the heat exchanger as a cold heat source and wherein the refrigerant compressor is connected to the refrigerant expander and compresses the refrigerant using expansion energy of the refrigerant transmitted from the refrigerant expander.
Shin teaches that a portion of the evaporated gas which has been compressed in one of the compressors can be sent to a refrigeration cycle (paragraph 45) where the gas is heated in a heat exchanger (cooled in a heat exchanger (120), expanded (510) and then used as a refrigerant in the heat exchanger before being compressed (230) by the energy of the expansion to provide cooling to the liquefaction line downstream of the heat exchanger (110) which is used for heating the boil-off gas (paragraphs 60-65).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have provided in Lee as modified downstream of the heat exchanger (500) an additional heat exchanger (which would be the claimed heat exchanger) which receives a refrigerant which is a diverted portion of a partially compressed part of the boil-off gas which has been previously compressed in a refrigeration compressor which is then cooled in the additional heat exchanger, expanded in an expander which drives the refrigeration compressor before being used in the heat exchanger to provide cooling before starting the cycle over since it has been shown that combining prior art elements to yield predictable results is obvious whereby providing the components of the cycle to cool the additional heat exchanger would be common knowledge in the art so that reliquefaction process does not only rely upon
With respect to claim 13, Lee as modified teaches wherein, in the first operation mode, the second compressor is not operated, and wherein, in the second operation mode, the first compressor is not operated (the system can operate at navigation with just one compressor and can operate at anchor with just one compressor, paragraphs 52-53, which means the individual combinations of the first operating mode with only the first compressor and the second operating mode with only the second compressor, taught by Lee as modified). This modification would effectively provide the entirety of the component shown in the cycle of Shin including the diverted pathways for the fluid, expander, compressor and heat exchanger to the system of Lee as modified in the same configuration as shown in Shin.
With respect to claim 14, Lee as modified teaches wherein, in the first operation mode, the second compressor is not operated, and wherein, in the second operation mode, the first compressor is not operated (the system can operate at navigation with just one compressor and can operate at anchor with just one compressor, paragraphs 52-53, which means the individual combinations of the first operating mode with only the first compressor and the second operating mode with only the second compressor, taught by Lee as modified).
With respect to claim 15, Lee as modified teaches wherein the power generation engine is connected to the front compression section at a point between the front compression section and the rear compression section (as seen in the figure L22 branches off after a front compression section and is connected as such).
Lee as modified does not teach the heat exchanger is connected to the front compression section at a point between the front compression section and the rear compressing section.
Shin teaches that a liquefaction line which sends the gas back to be liquefied can be branched from only partial compression of a compressor which would allow it to be compressed in the first stage by compressors that don’t have oil-lubrication which can be prevent the need for an oil separator on the re-liquefaction line so that the heat exchanger does not get blocked by oil (paragraph 52).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have connected the line that returns the boil-off gas of Lee as modified back for liquefaction to an earlier stage of the compression that is not operating in an oil-lubricated manner of the compressor (210) which provides the benefit of not having to install a separate oil filter on the reliquefaction line so that the first heat exchanger does not get blocked by oil (which oil filters Lee has 400, paragraph 46)
With respect to claim 16, Lee as modified teaches wherein the power generation engine is connected to the front compression section at a point between the front compression section and the rear compression section (as seen in the figure L22 branches off after a front compression section and is connected as such).
Lee as modified does not teach the heat exchanger is connected to the front compression section at a point between the front compression section and the rear compressing section.
Shin teaches that a liquefaction line which sends the gas back to be liquefied can be branched from only partial compression of a compressor which would allow it to be compressed in the first stage by compressors that don’t have oil-lubrication which can be prevent the need for an oil separator on the re-liquefaction line so that the heat exchanger does not get blocked by oil (paragraph 52).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have connected the line that returns the boil-off gas of Lee as modified back for liquefaction to an earlier stage of the compression that is not operating in an oil-lubricated manner of the compressor (210) which provides the benefit of not having to install a separate oil filter on the reliquefaction line so that the first heat exchanger does not get blocked by oil (which oil filters Lee as modified has 400, paragraph 46).
Claim(s) 2, 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee/Shin/Li and further in view of Ragot (US PG Pub 20160216029), hereinafter referred to as Ragot.
With respect to claim 2, Lee as modified does not teach a refrigerant compressor configured to receive the refrigerant discharged from the heat exchanger after heat exchange and further configured to compress the received refrigerant
and a refrigerant expander configured to receive the refrigerant compressed by the refrigerant compressor, expand to cool the received refrigerant, and supply the cooled refrigerant to the heat exchanger.
Ragot (Figure 1, 20) teaches a reliquefaction system a refrigerant compressor (32) configured to receive the refrigerant (nitrogen refrigerant) discharged from the heat exchangers (26 and 28) after heat exchange and further configured to compress the received refrigerant and a refrigerant expander (30) configured to receive the refrigerant compressed by the refrigerant compressor, expand to cool the received refrigerant, and supply the cooled refrigerant to the heat exchanger (this is the cycle shown by Ragot, paragraph 35). This can be seen to be in addition to the heat exchanger (10) which warms the boil-off gas.
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have based on the teaching of Ragot provided the reliquefaction system of Ragot (the entire Brayton loop including 26, 28, 32, 34 and 30) to downstream of the heat exchanger (500) reliquefy the boil-off gas of Lee as modified since it has been shown that combining prior art elements to yield predictable results is obvious whereby it would be common knowledge in the art that by providing a dedicated liquefaction system that does not rely on the warming of the boil-off gas alone would provide what would be common knowledge in the art of being able to compensate for fluctuations in the system to ensure that returning boil-off gas is liquefied.
With respect to claim 9, Lee modified does not teach wherein the refrigerant circulated along the refrigerant circulation line is nitrogen.
Ragot (Figure 1, 20) teaches a reliquefaction system a refrigerant compressor (32) configured to receive the refrigerant (nitrogen refrigerant) discharged from the heat exchangers (26 and 28) after heat exchange and further configured to compress the received refrigerant and a refrigerant expander (30) configured to receive the refrigerant compressed by the refrigerant compressor, expand to cool the received refrigerant, and supply the cooled refrigerant to the heat exchanger (this is the cycle shown by Ragot, paragraph 35). This can be seen to be in addition to the heat exchanger (10) which warms the boil-off gas. Thus one of the additional heat exchangers can be considered the claimed heat exchanger.
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have based on the teaching of Ragot provided the reliquefaction system of Ragot (the entire Brayton loop including 26, 28, 32, 34 and 30) to downstream of the heat exchanger (500) reliquefy the boil-off gas of Lee as modified since it has been shown that combining prior art elements to yield predictable results is obvious whereby it would be common knowledge in the art that by providing a dedicated liquefaction system that does not rely on the warming of the boil-off gas alone would provide what would be common knowledge in the art of being able to compensate for fluctuations in the system to ensure that returning boil-off gas is liquefied. Thus one of the additional heat exchangers can be considered the claimed heat exchanger receiving nitrogen as a refrigerant.
Claim(s) 4-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee/Shin/Li and further in view of and further in view of Lee et al. (KR20170137604), hereinafter referred to as Ko.
With respect to claim 4, Lee as modified teaches a branch line branched off of the boil-off gas supply line and configured to allow the boil-off gas to be supplied to the first compressor or the second compressor without passing through the heat exchanger (L10, paragraph 48), when branch line is configured such that, when the reliquefaction is not performed, the branch line is configured to allow the boil-off gas generated in the storage tank to at least partially bypass the heat exchanger and to be introduced into the first compressor or the second compressor (in initial stages when gas is sent only to L10, paragraphs 48-49 there would be no liquefaction in 500).
Lee as modified does not teach a preheater provided to the branch line to heat the boil-off gas, wherein when the reliquefaction is not performed the boil-off gas is configured to be passed via the preheater.
Ko (Figure 2) teaches boil-off gas can either by-pass (via 81b) a heat exchanger (20) or pass through (via 81a) the heat exchanger as it leaves a tank on the way to compression (51-54, paragraph 106) where the boil-off gas which bypasses the heat exchanger is heated in a heater (61) to bring the temperature of the vaporized gas up (paragraph 144) in order to supplement the preheating of the evaporation gas when the heat exchanger is weakened (paragraph 179). The control is done based on the amount of generated evaporated gas (paragraph 9).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have in Lee as modified when bypassing the boil-off gas through the branch line to have provided a heater which preheats the boil-off gas in the branch line based on the teaching of Ko since it has been shown that combining prior art elements to yield predictable results is obvious whereby it would be common knowledge in the art to provide the heater in order to heat the boil-off gas in the branch line regardless of how much gas is generated (the implicit motivation in paragraph 9 of Ko) to ensure it is at the temperature needed before compression. As such, in the condition that no reliquefaction was being performed and the gas is going through the bypass line, it would pass through the preheater.
With respect to claim 5, Lee as modified teaches a decompressor configured to receive the compressed boil-off gas cooled through heat exchange in the heat exchanger and decompress the received compressed boil-off gas (decompressor 600, paragraph 57); and a gas-liquid separator configured to receive the boil-off gas decompressed by the decompressor and perform gas-liquid separation of the received boil-off gas (700, paragraph 57), wherein flash gas separated by the gas-liquid separator is joined with a stream of uncompressed boil-off gas upstream of the heat exchanger (gas separated in 700 is mixed with L11, paragraph 57), and liquefied gas separated by the gas- liquid separator is returned to the storage tank (liquid from 700 is returned to the tank 100, paragraph 57).
Claim(s) 6-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee/Shin/Li/Ko and further in view of Lee et al. (KR101356003), hereinafter referred to as Moon.
With respect to claim 6, Lee as modified does not teach a liquefied gas supply line connecting the storage tank to the propulsion engine to allow liquefied gas stored in the storage tank to be supplied as fuel to the propulsion engine; a compression pump disposed on the liquefied gas supply line and configured to pressurize the liquefied gas to the fuel supply pressure required for the propulsion and a vaporizer configured to heat the liquefied gas pressurized by the compression pump, a liquefied gas branch line branched off of the liquefied gas supply line downstream of the vaporizer and connected to the power generation engine; a pressure regulating valve provided to the liquefied gas branch line and configured to adjust the liquefied gas to the fuel supply pressure required for the power generation engine; and a heater provided to the liquefied gas branch line and configured to further heat the liquefied gas having passed through the pressure regulating valve to a fuel supply temperature required for the power generation engine.
Moon teaches a system for treating boil-off gas for a ship (Figure 100) with a hybrid fuel system with a liquefied gas supply line along which liquefied gas stored in the storage tank is supplied as fuel to the propulsion engine (fuel supply line 110 provides LNG to the MEGI engine, paragraph 41-42), a compression pump disposed on the liquefied gas supply line and pressurizing the liquefied gas to a fuel supply pressure required for the propulsion engine (LNG pump 120 brings the pressure of the LNG to that needed for the MEGI engine, paragraphs 41-42) and a vaporizer heating the liquefied gas pressurized by the compression pump (vaporizer after LNG pumps, paragraph 41, which would vaporize the LNG), a liquefied gas branch line branched off of the liquefied gas supply line downstream of the vaporizer and connected to the power generation engine (connecting line 170 which lets vaporized LNG pass to a gas combustion or inert gas generator, paragraph 49); a pressure regulating valve provided to the liquefied gas branch line and adjusting the liquefied gas to a fuel supply pressure required for the power generation engine (pressure reduction valve, 190, paragraph 50); and a heater provided to the liquefied gas branch line and further heating the liquefied gas having passed through the pressure regulating valve to a fuel supply temperature required for the power generation engine (180 heats the fluid from 190 to pass it to 200, paragraph 50). Thus, the entirety of the limitations can be shown to be taught by Moon, where each pressure increase, decrease or temperature increase would be capable of bringing them to the required pressures and temperatures.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have based on the teaching of Moon provide a line which passes from the liquid of the tank of Lee as modified to the ME-GI engine with a high pressure pump followed by a vaporizer on it, as well as a branch line after the vaporizer which is capable of passing the vaporized fluid through a pressure reduction valve and then to another heater and to the generator engine in order to supply the necessary fuel to the respective engines when the amount of boil-off gas is not enough to meet the need for gas by the engines (paragraph 75 of Moon).
Response to Arguments
Applicants’ arguments, see pages 10-11, filed 7/28/20226, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-3, 10 under 35 USC 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Lee.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRIAN M KING whose telephone number is (571)272-2816. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 0800-1700.
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, Frantz Jules can be reached at 5712726681. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BRIAN M KING/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763
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