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 .
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.
Claim 4 is 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.
Claim 4 line 5 requires “as the baffle, a baffle”, it unclear if the second recitation of baffle is referring to the baffle already claimed in claim 1 or another baffle. For the purposes of examination “a baffle” is interpreted as “a second baffle”.
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(s) 1-3, 5 and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Suzuki et. al (US 5,678,527).
With respect to claim 1 Suzuki discloses a premixing device comprising: a gas flow path forming member [reference character 48], having a gas flow path formed therein through which air supplied from outside flows; a blade [see annotated Fig. below], arranged midway of the gas flow path and provided with a fuel gas outlet [reference character 53 and column 4 lines 8-14] in a region near one end downstream in an air flow direction, the fuel gas outlet allowing a fuel gas to flow out to the gas flow path by utilizing a negative pressure generated due to effects of a flow of the air; a pair of divided flow paths [see annotated Fig. below], configured by dividing a portion of the gas flow path by the blade, and arranged side by side on both sides of the blade with the blade interposed therebetween in an X direction intersecting the air flow direction; and a baffle [see annotated Fig. below], located upstream of the fuel gas outlet in the air flow direction on an inner peripheral surface of each of the divided flow paths, and being in the shape of a protruding piece or step part protruding inward of each of the divided flow paths [see Fig. 3], wherein the baffle is provided in at least a portion of an inner region on the blade side of each of the divided flow paths, and is configured to increase a flow velocity of air flowing through an outer region opposite the inner region to be higher than a flow velocity of air passing through the inner region1.
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With respect to claim 2 Suzuki discloses that the baffle is provided so as to avoid at least a portion of the outer region of each of the divided flow paths [see annotated Fig. above].
With respect to claim 3 Suzuki discloses that the baffle has an air receiving surface [see annotated Fig. above] facing upstream in the air flow direction; and the premixing device is configured so that air advancing toward the air receiving surface along the inner peripheral surface of each of the divided flow paths from a position upstream in the air flow direction collides with the air receiving surface, making it possible to generate a vortex of the air2.
With respect to claim 5 Suzuki discloses that as the fuel gas outlet, a pair of fuel gas outlets [at metering rods 61] provided to open on both side surfaces of the region near the one end of the blade and respectively facing downstream regions of the pair of divided flow paths in the air flow direction [see Fig. 3].
With respect to claim 7 Suzuki discloses a premixing device [reference character 41], generating a mixed gas in which air and a fuel are mixed, and a burner [reference character 11], receiving supply of the mixed gas from the premixing device and burning the fuel gas, wherein the premixing device according to claim 1 is used as the premixing device [see fig. 2].
Claim(s) 8-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Suzuki et. al (US 5,678,527).
With respect to claim 8 Suzuki discloses a premixing device comprising: a gas flow path forming member [reference character 48], having a gas flow path formed therein through which air supplied from outside flows; a blade [see annotated Fig. above], arranged midway of the gas flow path and provided with a fuel gas outlet [reference character 53 and column 4 lines 8-14] in a region near one end downstream in an air flow direction, the fuel gas outlet allowing a fuel gas to flow out to the gas flow path by utilizing a negative pressure generated due to effects of a flow of the air; a pair of divided flow paths [see annotated Fig. above], configured by dividing a portion of the gas flow path by the blade, and arranged side by side on both sides of the blade with the blade interposed therebetween in an X direction intersecting the air flow direction, wherein as the fuel gas outlet, a pair of fuel gas outlets [at metering rods 61] provided to open on both side surfaces of the region near the one end of the blade and respectively facing downstream regions of the pair of divided flow paths in the air flow direction [see Fig. 3].
With respect to claim 9 Suzuki discloses a premixing device [reference character 41], generating a mixed gas in which air and a fuel are mixed, and a burner [reference character 11], receiving supply of the mixed gas from the premixing device and burning the fuel gas, wherein the premixing device according to claim 8 is used as the premixing device [see Fig. 2].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 6 is 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to VIVEK K SHIRSAT whose telephone number is (571)272-3722. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00AM-5:20AM.
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/VIVEK K SHIRSAT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3762
1 A person having ordinary sill in the art would recognize that the reduction in area would increase the flow velocity.
2 “[M]aking it possible to generate a vortex of the air” does not require that the structure generates a vortex under all conditions.
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