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 .
Drawings
The drawings were received on 7/24/2024. These drawings are not approved as they do not conform with the requirements of 37 CFR “1.84 Standards for drawings.”
“(l) Character of lines, numbers, and letters. All drawings must be made by a process which will give them satisfactory reproduction characteristics. Every line, number, and letter must be durable, clean, black (except for color drawings), sufficiently dense and dark, and uniformly thick and well-defined. The weight of all lines and letters must be heavy enough to permit adequate reproduction. This requirement applies to all lines however fine, to shading, and to lines representing cut surfaces in sectional views. Lines and strokes of different thicknesses may be used in the same drawing where different thicknesses have a different meaning.”
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
At the very minimum, BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S) and DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION sections are missing from the specification.
Content of Specification
(a) TITLE OF THE INVENTION: See 37 CFR 1.72(a) and MPEP § 606. The title of the invention should be placed at the top of the first page of the specification unless the title is provided in an application data sheet. The title of the invention should be brief but technically accurate and descriptive, preferably from two to seven words. It may not contain more than 500 characters.
(b) CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS: See 37 CFR 1.78 and MPEP § 211 et seq.
(c) STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT: See MPEP § 310.
(d) THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT. See 37 CFR 1.71(g).
(e) INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A READ-ONLY OPTICAL DISC, AS A TEXT FILE OR AN XML FILE VIA THE PATENT ELECTRONIC SYSTEM: The specification is required to include an incorporation-by-reference of electronic documents that are to become part of the permanent United States Patent and Trademark Office records in the file of a patent application. See 37 CFR 1.77(b)(5) and MPEP § 608.05. See also the Legal Framework for Patent Electronic System posted on the USPTO website (https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2019LegalFrameworkPES.pdf) and MPEP § 502.05
(f) STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR A JOINT INVENTOR. See 35 U.S.C. 102(b) and 37 CFR 1.77.
(g) BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION: See MPEP § 608.01(c). The specification should set forth the Background of the Invention in two parts:
(1) Field of the Invention: A statement of the field of art to which the invention pertains. This statement may include a paraphrasing of the applicable U.S. patent classification definitions of the subject matter of the claimed invention. This item may also be titled “Technical Field.”
(2) Description of the Related Art including information disclosed under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98: A description of the related art known to the applicant and including, if applicable, references to specific related art and problems involved in the prior art which are solved by the applicant’s invention. This item may also be titled “Background Art.”
(h) BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION: See MPEP § 608.01(d). A brief summary or general statement of the invention as set forth in 37 CFR 1.73. The summary is separate and distinct from the abstract and is directed toward the invention rather than the disclosure as a whole. The summary may point out the advantages of the invention or how it solves problems previously existent in the prior art (and preferably indicated in the Background of the Invention). In chemical cases it should point out in general terms the utility of the invention. If possible, the nature and gist of the invention or the inventive concept should be set forth. Objects of the invention should be treated briefly and only to the extent that they contribute to an understanding of the invention.
(i) BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S): See MPEP § 608.01(f). A reference to and brief description of the drawing(s) as set forth in 37 CFR 1.74.
(j) DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION: See MPEP § 608.01(g). A description of the preferred embodiment(s) of the invention as required in 37 CFR 1.71. The description should be as short and specific as is necessary to describe the invention adequately and accurately. Where elements or groups of elements, compounds, and processes, which are conventional and generally widely known in the field of the invention described, and their exact nature or type is not necessary for an understanding and use of the invention by a person skilled in the art, they should not be described in detail. However, where particularly complicated subject matter is involved or where the elements, compounds, or processes may not be commonly or widely known in the field, the specification should refer to another patent or readily available publication which adequately describes the subject matter.
(k) CLAIM OR CLAIMS: See 37 CFR 1.75 and MPEP § 608.01(m). The claim or claims must commence on a separate sheet or electronic page (37 CFR 1.52(b)(3)). Where a claim sets forth a plurality of elements or steps, each element or step of the claim should be separated by a line indentation. There may be plural indentations to further segregate subcombinations or related steps. See 37 CFR 1.75 and MPEP 608.01(i) - (p).
(l) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE: See 37 CFR 1.72 (b) and MPEP § 608.01(b). The abstract is a brief narrative of the disclosure as a whole, as concise as the disclosure permits, in a single paragraph preferably not exceeding 150 words, commencing on a separate sheet following the claims. In an international application which has entered the national stage (37 CFR 1.491(b)), the applicant need not submit an abstract commencing on a separate sheet if an abstract was published with the international application under PCT Article 21. The abstract that appears on the cover page of the pamphlet published by the International Bureau (IB) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is the abstract that will be used by the USPTO. See MPEP § 1893.03(e).
(m) SEQUENCE LISTING: See 37 CFR 1.821 - 1.825 and MPEP §§ 2421 - 2431. The requirement for a sequence listing applies to all sequences disclosed in a given application, whether the sequences are claimed or not. See MPEP § 2422.01.
35 U.S.C. 112(a) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, requires the specification to be written in “full, clear, concise, and exact terms.” The specification is replete with terms which are not clear, concise and exact. The specification should be revised carefully in order to comply with 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112. Examples of some unclear, inexact or verbose terms used in the specification are: listed in the objection to the specification.
Examples include:
the extensive use of “anagram” which makes no grammatical sense, “confrontation of explosions” used throughout the specification,
the extensive use of y on pages 5, 6.
PNG
media_image1.png
48
271
media_image1.png
Greyscale
“vacuum cleaner” – it is unclear what is being cleaned.
Secondly, the specification is replete with drawing numbers that are not in the drawings. For example, the specification uses a number AX whereas the drawing uses AX. Some examples:
71 in the specification vs 71 in the drawing
72 vs 72
4210 vs 4210
Correction is required.
A substitute specification in proper idiomatic English and in compliance with 37 CFR 1.52(a) and (b) is required. The substitute specification filed must be accompanied by a statement that it contains no new matter.
A substitute specification must not contain new matter. The substitute specification must be submitted with markings showing all the changes relative to the immediate prior version of the specification of record. The text of any added subject matter must be shown by underlining the added text. The text of any deleted matter must be shown by strike-through except that double brackets placed before and after the deleted characters may be used to show deletion of five or fewer consecutive characters. The text of any deleted subject matter must be shown by being placed within double brackets if strike-through cannot be easily perceived. An accompanying clean version (without markings) and a statement that the substitute specification contains no new matter must also be supplied. Numbering the paragraphs of the specification of record is not considered a change that must be shown.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement as the specification is not in “full, clear, concise, and exact terms.” Examples are listed above in the specification section.
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.
Claim 1 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 1 is rejected as failing to define the invention in the manner required by 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, second paragraph.
The claim(s) are narrative in form and replete with indefinite language. The structure which goes to make up the device must be clearly and positively specified. The structure must be organized and correlated in such a manner as to present a complete operative device. The claim(s) must be in one sentence form only. Note the format of the claims in the patent(s) cited.
The claims are generally narrative and indefinite, failing to conform with current U.S. practice. They appear to be a literal translation into English from a foreign document and are replete with grammatical and idiomatic errors.
For instance, A turbine driven by “confrontation of explosions” is not understood since "confrontation" does not appear to make sense in this context.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being incomplete for omitting essential structural cooperative relationships of elements, such omission amounting to a gap between the necessary structural connections. See MPEP § 2172.01. The omitted structural cooperative relationships are manifold, noting the claim essentially lists elements but without any structural relationship between them. For example, the following is mere list and there is no relationship between any of these components to determine where they are located and how they are related:
“o An oxygen tank.
o The oxygen charging solenoid valve.
o A fuel tank.
o The fuel charging solenoid valve.
o A mixing chamber.
o A combustion chamber with high cooling capacity.
0 The oxygen management solenoid valve.
o The fuel management solenoid valve.
o The intermediate management solenoid valve.
o A combustion chamber pressure gauge. An injector line.”
The claim is further replete with numerous instances of improper antecedent basis: Some examples include:
Line 10, “The oxygen charging solenoid valve”
Line 12, The fuel charging solenoid valve
Line 25 the injection
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) 1, as understood, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hughes (3,459,953) in view of Saavedra (2021/0003072), Obishi (2017/0036661), Christ (4,620,414), Gudmundson (8671687), Ohyauch et al (4693945), Tapper et al (3750395) and Lin et al “Experimental study on propagation mode of H2/Air continuously rotating detonation wave”. Hughes teaches A turbine driven by confrontation of explosions of oxygen 22 and hydrogen 20 or any hydrogenated hydrocarbon under pressure and vacuum by aqueous precipitation 42 of the resulting water vapor comprising the following components:
An electronic control.
An impeller consisting of:
o An oxygen tank 22.
o The oxygen charging 26.
o A fuel tank 20.
o The fuel charging 28.
o A mixing chamber 24.
o A combustion chamber 24 with high cooling capacity.
0 The oxygen management valve 26.
o The fuel management valve 28.
o An injector line 30.
An injection housing,
A suction housing of 32.
A driving rotor 32,
An exhaust duct 40.
A vacuum cleaner 42 comprising:
A vacuum reservoir [condenser] 42.
A liquid water reservoir 54.
n exhaust tank 16.
A backwater management valve 5.
A spray management valve 46 or 60.
A drive management valve 60.
A drain management valve 56.
A bleed management valve 60.
A liquid water tank pressure gauge.
A vacuum reservoir level [water level is maintained in 54].
A liquid water reservoir level 86 [water level is maintained in 16].
Hughes does not teach The intermediate management valve nor An injection housing, in which the injection management valve is installed. Saavedra teaches The intermediate management valve 50 and An injection housing 52, in which the injection management valve 52 is installed. Saavedra teaches these valve aid in supplying combustibles to the combustor and then to the turbine in an intermittent combustion system that facilitates “rotary motion directly from intermittent combustion has many advantages over piston engines, such as a higher power to weight ratio, smaller overall footprints, no reciprocating parts, ability to achieve higher revolutions per minute, and operating with much less vibration. [paragraph 0006].” It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to employ an intermediate management valve and An injection housing, in which the injection management valve is installed, in an intermittent combustion system, because “rotary motion directly from intermittent combustion has many advantages over piston engines, such as a higher power to weight ratio, smaller overall footprints, no reciprocating parts, ability to achieve higher revolutions per minute, and operating with much less vibration. [paragraph 0006].
In Hughes A vacuum reservoir [condenser] 42 is believed to be present. Hughes does not teach A vacuum pressure gauge. A liquid water tank pressure gauge. An exhaust pressure gauge. A suction management valve. Alternately, Gudmundson teaches A vacuum reservoir [condenser] 27 which is evacuated to vacuum [top of 27] is typically done to condense the water. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to employ A vacuum reservoir [condenser], as taught by Gudmundson, in order to facilitate condensing the water. Gudmunson A vacuum pressure gauge 27 [see Fig. 5]. A liquid water tank pressure gauge. An exhaust pressure gauge 27. It would have been obvious to use a vacuum pressure gauge and An exhaust pressure gauge, as to monitor vacuum and exhaust conditions. Tapper et al teach A suction management valve 17 connected to a vacuum that breaks the suction upon loss of load [see abstract]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to employ A suction management valve, as taught by Tapper et al, in order to break the suction upon loss of load.
Hughes teaches
o The oxygen charging 26.
o The fuel charging 28.
Hughes does not teach
o The oxygen charging valve.
o The fuel charging valve.
Yachi et al teach an oxygen tank 11b with oxygen charging valve 14a and a fuel tank 11a with fuel charging valve 13 in the context of an electrolysis system 7, which is analogous to Hughes. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to employ The oxygen charging valve and The fuel charging valve, as taught by Yachi et al, in order to facilitate charging and storage of the oxygen and fuel.
Hughes does not teach
A driving rotor, on the side of which the injection and suction driving bearing channels open.
Communicating coaxially its bases it is crossed by a power intake.
Skewed to said bases, there is a concentric series of spans whose separating blades constitute the motor turbine therein.
The driving rotor has on its side the injection driving bearing channel and the suction driving bearing channel. The required number of bearings to fill the injection drive bearing race and suction drive bearing race.
A major injection seal. A minor injection seal. A major suction seal.
A minor suction joint.
Christ teaches A driving rotor 2a, 2b, on the side of which the injection 12 and suction driving bearing channels [exit to the right] open.
Communicating coaxially its bases it is crossed by a power intake [for 3].
Skewed to said bases, there is a concentric series of spans whose separating blades 5b, 5a constitute the motor turbine therein. On one of the bases of the driving rotor are arranged the channels of the major injection driving seal and the minor injection driving seal; on the other, those of the major suction driving seal and the minor suction driving seal.
The driving rotor has on its side the injection driving bearing channel 9 [left] and the suction driving bearing channel 9 [right]. The required number of bearings 9 to fill the injection drive bearing race and suction drive bearing race.
Christ teaches the bearings and driving rotor are “a compact gas turbine engine with a space saving mode of construction. … the dynamical forces generated within the engine are already substantially compensated within the engine. [col. 1, lines 38-44]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to employ the driving rotor and bearings of Christ, in order to employ a compact gas turbine engine with a space saving mode of construction where the dynamical forces generated within the engine are substantially compensated [col. 1, lines 38-44]. .
Emmerson teaches a rotor 12 where On one of the bases of the driving rotor are arranged the channels of the major injection driving seal 78 and the minor injection driving seal 88 [left side of Fig. 7],; on 13 the other, those of the major suction driving seal 82 and the minor suction driving seal 88 [right side of Fig. 7], A major injection seal. A minor injection seal. A major suction seal. A minor suction joint. see paragraphs 0075, 0092. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to employ the seals on the injection and suction seals, as taught by Emmerson, in order to reduce leakage of hot gases and protect the rotor from heat escaping.
As for other features such as An electric battery, A spark plug. Ohishi teaches An electric battery 35, A spark plug 42 are used to store electricity and provide ignition. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to employ An electric battery, A spark plug, as taught by Ohishi, in order to store electricity and provide ignition.
The prior art do not teach
An oxygen tank pressure gauge.
o A fuel tank H2 pressure gauge.
o A combustion chamber pressure gauge
Lin et al teach [see Fig. 2, 5 and pages 1982-1984]
An oxygen tank pressure gauge [Air].
o A fuel tank H2 pressure gauge.
o A combustion chamber pressure gauge [chamber pressure, Fig. 2].
Lin et al teach these are typical diagnostic measurement devices to monitor combustion. It would have been obvious to employ these pressure gauges to monitor combustion.
As for all the valve types being solenoid valves, Ohyauchi et al teach using valves 22a, 22b, 23 solenoid valves which are extremely commonly used. It would have been obvious to tone of ordinary skill in the art to make all the valves solenoid valves, as taught by Ohyauchi et al, as an extremely common type of valve that is available for use for controlling flows.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the Examiner should be directed to TED KIM whose telephone number is 571-272-4829. The Examiner can be reached on regular business hours before 5:00 pm, Monday to Thursday and every other Friday.
The fax number for the organization where this application is assigned is 571-273-8300.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Tom Sweet, can be reached at 571-272-4761. Alternate inquiries to Technology Center 3700 can be made via 571-272-3700.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from Patent Center https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center. Should you have questions on Patent Center, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). General inquiries can also be directed to the Inventors Assistance Center whose telephone number is 800-786-9199. Furthermore, a variety of online resources are available at https://www.uspto.gov/patent
/Ted Kim/
Telephone
571-272-4829
Primary Examiner
Fax
571-273-8300
February 26, 2025