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 .
Acknowledgement is made of amendments received 05-18-2026.
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.
Claim(s) 8, 11, and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over De Angelis ‘398 (WO 2018/017398 A1) in view of Yin ‘573 (CN 112624573 A - English language translation provided herewith and referenced herein).
Regarding claim 8, De Angelis ‘398 teaches:
a transfer pipe through which molten glass flows (conduit 137 with vessel wall 161 with molten glass material 121, Figs. 2-3; ¶ [0035])
a casing, which accommodates the transfer pipe, and includes a space around the transfer pipe (housing walls 201/205 and casing around coil 345, with fluid circulation area 315, Figs. 2-3; ¶ [0038], [0050], [0054])
a cooling device configured to cool the casing outside of the space is provided (cooling coil 345 with cooling fluid source 350, Fig. 3; ¶ [0041], [0050], [0053]).
De Angelis ‘398 does not specify if the cooling fluid is a liquid or gas. However, De Angelis ‘398 suggests that both liquid and gas are known as effective heat transfer fluids in such an apparatus (¶ [0050]). Also, there are only two options, liquid or gas, and one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have found it obvious to try making the cooling fluid a cooling liquid as one of a finite number of options, with a predictable result of causing cooling heat transfer.
De Angelis ‘398 is silent regarding the cooling device being configured to cool a region at least including an upper wall of the casing using the cooling liquid. However, upper housing wall 205 in Fig. 3 is part of the housing wall 201 forming the casing, shown separated in Fig. 3 only to illustrate an alternative embodiment in which wall 205 has a different configuration (¶ [0054]). De Angelis ‘398 describes cooling coil 345 (cooling device) as being “positioned adjacent to or in contact with the housing wall outer surface 204” (¶ [0053]), wherein outer surface 204 is constituted by the outer surface of all of housing wall 201, including upper housing wall 205. As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to position a cooling device on any portions of outer surface 204, including that of the upper wall of the casing, as an obvious rearrangement and/or duplication of parts that would accomplish cooling of the housing as desired by De Angelis ‘398, and for the benefit of providing cooling to other portions of the housing. See MPEP 2144.04 VI.
De Angelis ‘398 is silent regarding a retaining brick, which is arranged on an outer peripheral side of the transfer pipe, and retains the transfer pipe. In analogous art of molten glass conduits, Yin ‘573 suggests providing a retaining brick arranged on an outer peripheral side of a transfer pipe through which molten glass flows, and retains the transfer pipe, for the benefit of supporting and protecting the transfer pipe (cladding brick 1/101 arranged on platinum channel 7 with molten glass 8, Figs. 1-2; p. 4, lines 30-31; p. 5, lines 14-16). In Yin ‘573, there is also a casing which accommodates the transfer pipe and the retaining brick and includes a space defined by the retaining brick (support brick 2/201 and/or insulation brick 3/301 including cavity 11, Figs. 1-2; p. 5, lines 16-20). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the apparatus of De Angelis ‘398 by providing a retaining brick, which is arranged on an outer peripheral side of a transfer pipe, and retains the transfer pipe, as an alternative structure for transporting molten glass, and for the benefit of supporting and protecting the transfer pipe, as suggested by Yin ‘573.
Regarding claim 11, De Angelis ‘398 further teaches the cooling device comprises a cooling flow passage provided in the casing, through which a cooling liquid flows (passage defined by the casing around coil 345 and left wall 201, Fig. 3), and a liquid supply/discharge device configured to supply and discharge the cooling liquid to and from the cooling flow passage (cooling fluid source 350, Fig. 3; ¶ [0053] - wherein cooling fluid source 350 is outside of the passage, and fluid is described as being circulated through coil 345, such that source 350 must supply and discharge the cooling fluid to and from the passage).
Regarding claim 14, De Angelis ‘398 suggests circulating gas in the space (¶ [0050], but is silent regarding a gas supply/discharge device configured to supply and discharge gas into and from the space. Yin ‘573 suggests a gas supply/discharge device configured to supply and discharge gas into and from a space between a casing and a retaining brick for the benefit of flowing gas into and out of the space to provide efficient cooling and to control cooling through the space (supply of cooling gas into air inlet pipe 12, and air outlet pipe 13 with exhaust fan; p. 4, lines 46-53; p. 5, lines 37-35). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the apparatus of De Angelis ‘398 by providing a gas supply/discharge device configured to supply and discharge gas into and from the space for the benefit of flowing gas into and out of the space to provide efficient cooling and to control cooling through the space, as suggested by Yin ‘573.
Claim(s) 9-10 and 12-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over De Angelis ‘398 (WO 2018/017398 A1) in view of Yin ‘573 (CN 112624573 A - English language translation provided herewith and referenced herein) and Radecki ‘819 (US 4,676,819).
Regarding claims 9-10, De Angelis ‘398 is silent regarding the cooling device comprising a nozzle configured to eject the cooling liquid to the casing and a collecting device configured to collect the cooling liquid ejected to the casing. In analogous art of cooling molten glass containing structures, Radecki ‘819 suggests a cooling device comprising a nozzle configured to eject cooling liquid to a casing (end of conduit 40, Fig. 1; column 4, lines 30-44) and a collecting device configured to collect the cooling liquid ejected to the casing (trough 42, conduit 43, trough 32, Fig. 1; column 4, lines 30-44) for the benefit of assuring thermal stability of the structure (column 2, lines 30-40). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the apparatus of De Angelis ‘398 by making the cooling device comprise a nozzle configured to eject cooling liquid to the casing and a collecting device configured to collect the cooling liquid ejected to the casing as a known manner of cooling a casing of a molten glass containing structure, and for the benefit of assuring thermal stability of the structure, as suggested by Radecki ‘819.
Regarding claims 12-13, De Angelis ‘398 further teaches the cooling device comprises a cooling flow passage provided in the casing, through which a cooling fluid flows (passage defined by the casing around coil 345 and left wall 201, Fig. 3), and a fluid supply/discharge device configured to supply and discharge the cooling fluid to and from the cooling flow passage (cooling fluid source 350, Fig. 3; ¶ [0053] - wherein cooling fluid source 350 is outside of the passage, and fluid is described as being circulated through coil 345, such that source 350 must supply and discharge the cooling fluid to and from the passage).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 05-18-2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Arguments are summarized as follows:
De Angelis ‘398 does not teach components configured to cool a region at least including an upper wall of a casing using cooling liquid.
Response: As now detailed in the rejection above, De Angelis ‘398 suggest cooling the housing wall, which includes an upper wall. A modification to place the cooling device on the upper wall would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
De Angelis ‘398 does not clarify the material or support configuration of the vessel 160 and does not provide specific and reasonable guidance to a person of ordinary skill in the art regarding whether the technology of De Angelis ‘398 is capable of being modified based on Yin ‘573 in the manner suggested in the rejection.
Response: Both De Angelis ‘398 and Yin ‘573 teach a pipe for transporting molten glass, wherein the pipe is subjected to some kind of cooling. While De Angelis ‘398 is non-specific on the materials of the pipe, it also does not limit potential materials of the pipe. Yin ‘573 suggests specific pipe material and retaining brick which can be used to transport molten glass. It would have been within the ordinary skill in the art how to apply the more specific suggestions of Yin ‘573 for the pipe and retaining brick, as a structure that is capable of transporting molten glass and being subjected to cooling, to the apparatus of De Angelis ‘398.
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 Erin Snelting whose telephone number is (571)272-7169. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday, 8:00 to 5:00.
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/ERIN SNELTING/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1741
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