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 08-21-2026.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 objected to because of the following informalities: Line 13 recites “fining tank F”. It appears the “F” was deleted in a previous amendment and accidentally reintroduced in the current amendment. The “F” should be deleted. Appropriate correction is required.
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) 1-2, 4-8, and 14-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Reynolds ‘559 (WO 2020/229559 A1) in view of Drake ‘064 (US 2,010,064) and Kapoor ‘929 (US 5,743,929).
Regarding claim 1, Reynolds ‘559 teaches:
providing a furnace comprising:
a melting tank (section 2, Fig. 1) comprising at least an upstream zone with a length L1 (most or all of domain D, Fig. 1) covered by a crown C1 defining a height H1 of the furnace (crown 5, height h, Fig. 1) with an electrical heating means (electrodes 91, Fig. 1; p. 17, lines 33-35), a downstream zone with a length L2 (most or all of domain E, Fig. 1) covered by a crown C2 having a height H2 (crown 4, height H, Fig. 1) and equipped with a combustion heating means (burners 6, Fig. 1), and a transition zone between the crown C1 and the crown C2 with a length LT (an arbitrary portion on the right end of domain D and/or the left end of domain E, having a length in the left-right direction, Fig. 1)
a fining tank (section 3, Fig. 1) covered by a crown C4 (crown 4 of section 3, Fig. 1) and equipped with an oxy-combustion heating means (burners 7, Fig. 1; p. 8, lines 27-28; p. 10, lines 23-31)
at least one inlet means located at the melting tank (inlet 16, Fig. 1)
an outlet means located downstream of the fining tank (outlet 14, Fig. 1)
at least one extraction means of a flue gas located at the upstream zone (flue gas discharge opening 17, Fig. 1; p. 17, lines 4-14)
charging vitrifiable materials comprising raw materials and cullet in the melting tank with the at least one inlet means, an amount of cullet being at least 10% in weight of a total amount of the vitrifiable materials (p. 8, line 3; p. 16, lines 7-8, 12-13; p. 24, line 9; p. 25, lines 31-32 - wherein the claimed range overlaps or lies inside the ranges taught by Reynolds ‘559, such that a prima facie case of obviousness exists; see MPEP 2144.05)
melting the vitrifiable materials in the melting tank by heating with the electrical heating means and the combustion heating means (p. 10, lines 1-2; p. 15, lines 30-32; p. 19, lines 13-16)
fining the melt in the fining tank by heating with the oxy-combustion heating means fed with gas and/or hydrogen (p. 8, lines 27-34; p. 9, lines 12-13, 22-24; p. 10, lines 16-17; p. 16, lines 24-25; p. 19, lines 16-18)
flowing the melt from the fining tank to a working zone through the outlet means (p. 16, lines 9-10 - wherein whatever zone is connected to the outlet is considered to be a working zone)
an electrical input fraction is from 30% to 85% (p. 8, lines 11-13; p. 9, lines 10-14; p. 17, line 35-p.18, line 2; p. 19, lines 5-8; p. 25, line 30 - wherein the claimed range overlaps or lies inside the ranges taught by Reynolds ‘559, such that a prima facie case of obviousness exists; see MPEP 2144.05).
Reynolds ‘559 is silent regarding the furnace comprising at least one neck separating the at least one melting tank and the fining tank. In analogous art of glass melting furnaces, Drake ‘064 suggests a furnace for melting glass comprising a melting tank (melting tank 6, Figs. 1-2; p. 1, right column, lines 40-45; p. 2, right column, lines 43-47) and a fining tank (superheating tank 9 and optionally including refining chamber 11, Figs. 1-2; p. 1, right column, lines 48-54), and a neck covered by a crown C3 and separating and directly connecting the melting tank and the fining tank (restricted passageway or neck 8 covered by cover member 17/18, Figs. 1-2; p. 1, right column, lines 22-23, 46-49; p. 2, right column, line 67-p. 3, left column, line 3) for the benefit of separating the tanks in order to allow independent heating of the tanks to different temperatures, thereby prolonging the life of the furnace (p. 1, left column, lines 46-52; p. 1, right column, lines 16-27; p. 2, left column, lines 52-56; p. 2, right column, lines 47-59; p. 3, left column, lines 1-7). Reynolds ‘559 also suggests the need for higher temperatures in the fining tank than in the melting tank (p. 8, line 15; p. 16, lines 24-25; p. 18, lines 30-33; p. 19, lines 13-20). 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 method of Reynolds ‘559 by providing the furnace with a neck covered by a crown C3 and separating and directly connecting the melting tank and the fining tank for the benefit of separating the tanks in order to allow independent heating of the tanks to different temperatures, thereby prolonging the life of the furnace, as suggested by Drake ‘064.
Reynolds ‘559 is silent regarding capturing CO2 from flue gas, said flue gas having a CO2 concentration of at least 35%, the capturing of the CO2 from the flue gas comprising compression and/or dehydration. Reynolds ‘559 does recognize that the flue gas contains CO2 that is removed from the furnace (p. 21, lines 8-11). In analogous art of oxyfuel fired furnaces for glass melting, Kapoor ‘929 suggests capturing CO2 from flue gas of an oxyfuel fired glass melting furnace, comprising compression and/or dehydration, said flue gas having a CO2 concentration of at least 35% (column 1, lines 5-8, 34-36; column 4, lines 55-67; column 5, lines 37-41; column 8, lines 45-52 - wherein the claimed range overlaps or lies inside the ranges suggested by Kapoor ‘929, such that a prima facie case of obviousness exists; see MPEP 2144.05) for the benefit of recycling CO2 from waste flue of an oxyfuel fired glass melting furnace gas for reuse (column 3, lines 13-19; column 5, lines 42-45). 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 method of Takagi ‘859 by capturing CO2 from flue gas, comprising compression and/or dehydration, said flue gas having a CO2 concentration of at least 35%, for the benefit of recycling CO2 from waste flue gas of an oxyfuel fired glass melting furnace for reuse as suggested by Kapoor ‘929.
Regarding the length of the transition zone being defined by LT≤0.2*(L1+L2), the transition zone can be arbitrarily defined by any portions of domains D and E such that the zone is between the crown above the upstream zone and the crown above the downstream zone and meets the claimed inequality. It is noted that the inequality allows for the transition zone to be vanishingly small. Reynolds ‘559 also suggests height H1 of the crown C1 (height h, Fig. 1) is less than the height H2 of the crown C2 (height H, Fig. 1) for the benefit increasing recuperation heat flux (p. 12, line 5-p. 6, line 5; p. 17, lines 16-19; p. 16, lines 31-p. 17, line 2; p. 17, lines 24-31), and that the particular heights may be optimized by one of ordinary skill in the art depending on the particular properties of the flue gas and the glass components (p. 13, lines 7-13). Additionally, Reynolds ‘559 suggests that the length L1 (length A, Fig. 1) is at least 40% of L1+L2 (length A+B, Fig. 1), including a specific example at 69%, which values overlap and fall within the claimed range (p. 25, lines 18-26). Reynolds ‘559 suggests that the specific ratio may be determined depending upon specific heat flux inputs (p. 24, line 28-p. 25, line 26). 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 method of Reynolds ‘559 by making the height H1 of crown C1 less than the height H2 of the crown C2 and selecting such heights for the benefit of increasing recuperation heat flux for particular properties of flue gas and glass components, and selecting a length L1 relative to a length L1+L2 to manage heat flux input, as suggested by Reynolds ‘559. While the ratio selection for L1 and L2 as described above does not account for the claimed transition zone, the transition zone may be of negligible length as noted above, and thus would not significantly alter applying the suggestions of Reynolds ‘559.
Regarding claim 2, Reynolds ‘559 further suggests the amount of cullet is at least 30% in weight of the total amount of the vitrifiable materials (p. 25, lines 30-32).
Regarding claims 4 and 5, Kapoor ‘929 further suggests the flue gas CO2 concentration is at least 40%, or at least 50% (column 1, lines 34-36).
Regarding claim 6, Kapoor ‘929 further suggests the capturing of the CO2 from the flue gas consists essentially of compression and/or dehydration (column 8, lines 48-50).
Regarding claims 7-8, Kapoor ‘929 further suggests eliminating acidic components from the flue gas, prior or concurrent to the capturing of the CO2, for the benefit of purifying the flue gas for CO2 capture (column 2, lines 24-30). 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 method of Takagi ‘859 by eliminating acidic components from the flue gas, prior or concurrent to the capturing of the CO2, for the benefit of purifying the flue gas for CO2 capture, as suggested by Kapoor ‘929.
Regarding claim 14, Drake ‘064 suggest the neck as described above, and further that an opening of the neck is partially under a glass melt free surface (restricted passageway or neck 8, Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 15, Kapoor ‘929 further suggests the flue gas CO2 concentration is “about 30 to 50% carbon dioxide”, wherein “about” is considered to suggest values just outside of the range, including values greater than 50%, e.g., 50.01% (column 1, lines 34-36).
Claim(s) 3 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Reynolds ‘559 (WO 2020/229559 A1), Drake ‘064 (US 2,010,064), and Kapoor ‘929 (US 5,743,929) in view of Chmelar ‘530 (WO 2021/233530 A1).
Regarding claims 3 and 13, Reynolds ‘559 is silent regarding the oxy-combustion heating means being fed with at least 50% hydrogen, or with at least 80% hydrogen. In analogous art of glass melting, Chmelar ‘530 suggests oxy-combustion heating means fed with at least 50% hydrogen, or with at least 80% hydrogen as a known fuel composition for oxy-combustion heating means in glass melting furnaces, and for the benefit of providing high temperatures in the furnace (p. 6, lines 6-27; p. 2, lines 10-14; p. 9, lines 11-16). 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 method of Reynolds ‘559 by feeding the oxy-combustion heating means with at least 50% hydrogen, or with at least 80% hydrogen, as a known fuel composition for oxy-combustion heating means in glass melting furnaces, and for the benefit of providing high temperatures in the furnace, as suggested by Chmelar ‘530.
Claim(s) 9-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Reynolds ‘559 (WO 2020/229559 A1), Drake ‘064 (US 2,010,064), and Kapoor ‘929 (US 5,743,929) in view of Alexander ‘529 (US 5,773,529).
Regarding claims 9-10, Reynolds ‘559 is silent regarding pre-heating the cullet, at least in part by recovering heat from the furnace, before charging the cullet in the melting tank, wherein a maximum temperature of the cullet at the pre-heating of the cullet is 450°C. In analogous art of glass melting, Alexander ‘529 suggests pre-heating cullet, at least in part by recovering heat from a glass melting furnace before charging the cullet in a melting tank, wherein a maximum temperature of the cullet at the pre-heating of the cullet is 450°C, for the benefit of providing efficiency to the system by using waste heat to heat the cullet, and to purify the cullet before introduction to the furnace, but at temperatures that do not cause detrimental softening or fusion of the cullet in the pre-heating apparatus (column 3, lines 22-29; column 7, lines 13-17, 40-43; column 9, lines 57-61). 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 method of Reynolds ‘559 by pre-heating the cullet, at least in part by recovering heat from the furnace before charging the cullet in the melting tank, wherein a maximum temperature of the cullet at the pre-heating of the cullet is 450°C, for the benefit of providing efficiency to the system by using waste heat to heat the cullet, and to purify the cullet before introduction to the furnace, but at temperatures that do not cause detrimental softening or fusion of the cullet in the pre-heating apparatus, as suggested by Alexander ‘529.
Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Reynolds ‘559 (WO 2020/229559 A1), Drake ‘064 (US 2,010,064), and Kapoor ‘929 (US 5,743,929) in view of Suzuki ‘904 (US 4,135,904).
Regarding claim 11, Reynolds ‘559 is silent regarding pre-melting at least a part of the cullet in an auxiliary melting tank and flowing pre-melted cullet to the melting tank. In analogous art of glass melting, Suzuki ‘904 suggests pre-melting at least a part of cullet in an auxiliary melting tank and flowing a pre-melted cullet to a melting tank for the benefit of improving thermal efficiency and cost efficiency of the system (column 3, lines 2-21, 36-39; column 4, lines 2-23, 47-49; column 10, lines 11-15). 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 method of Reynolds ‘559 by pre-melting at least a part of the cullet in an auxiliary melting tank and flowing a pre-melted cullet to the melting tank for the benefit of improving thermal efficiency and cost efficiency of the system, as suggested by Suzuki ‘904.
Claim(s) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Reynolds ‘559 (WO 2020/229559 A1), Drake ‘064 (US 2,010,064), and Kapoor ‘929 (US 5,743,929) in view of Brouwer ‘497 (US 2015/0147497 A1).
Regarding claim 12, Reynolds ‘559 suggests soda-lime glass (p. 10, line 17), but does not explicitly teach the raw materials comprise less than 25% in weight of carbonate compounds. In analogous art of molten glass compositions, Brouwer ‘497 suggests a soda lime composition wherein the raw materials comprise all oxides, and thus less than 25% in weight of carbonate compounds as a known formulation for soda lime glass (¶ [0002]-[0003]). 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 method of Reynolds ‘559 by making the raw materials comprise less than 25% in weight of carbonate compounds as a known formulation for soda lime glass, as suggested by Brouwer ‘497.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 1-13 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-13 of copending Application No. 18/870799 (reference application). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the claims of the ‘799 application encompass all of the limitations of the instant claims.
This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have not in fact been patented.
Claims 1-13 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-12 of copending Application No. 18/871289 (reference application). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the claims of the ‘289 application encompass all of the limitations of the instant claims.
This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have not in fact been patented.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed 08-21-2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-13 under 35 USC 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive, specifically with respect to the special definition of “neck” in Applicant’s specification, and in view of the instant amendments. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Reynolds ‘559 (WO 2020/229559 A1), Drake ‘064 (US 2,010,064), and Kapoor ‘929 (US 5,743,929).
Applicant’s argument – that the cited references do not teach or suggest obtaining flue gas having a CO2 concentration of at least 35%, and that Kapoor merely discloses generic downstream purification techniques applicable to flue gas – is not persuasive. Kapoor specifically references oxyfuel fired glassmaking furnace waste gas, and states that the exhaust gas from such a furnace usually contains about 30 to 50% carbon dioxide, which overlaps the claimed range. Thus, Kapoor renders obvious that other oxyfuel fired glassmaking furnaces produce waste (flue) gases containing about 30 to 50% carbon dioxide.
Applicant’s argument – that Reynolds does not disclose the claimed relationship between the transition zone and the lengths of the upstream and downstream zones because the transition zone limitation is not an arbitrary dimensional choice, and the specification explains that the claimed furnace relies on a specific segmentation with contributes to creating a significant temperature gradient, controlling flue gas repartition and extraction, limiting heat transfer between zones, and facilitating efficient CO2 capture, and Reynolds does not suggest these objectives or attribute any technical significance to the length of the transition region between crowns of different heights – is not persuasive. It is noted that the features upon which applicant relies (i.e., specific structure, function, and effects of the transition zone) are not recited in the rejected claim(s). Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993). The claim merely recites that the transition zone is located between crown C1 and crown C2, and that its length is less than or equal to 0.2 times the combined lengths of the upstream zone and the downstream zone. As described above, those limitations are suggested by Reynolds ‘559.
Applicant appears to argue that Reynolds and Kapoor are non-analogous art because Reynolds is directed to operational flexibility and energy balancing, Alexander is directed to drying and removing contaminants from the cullet and recovering waste heat to improve overall energy efficiency of the process, and Kapoor is directed to downstream purification of flue gases from oxy-fuel furnaces. This is not persuasive because Reynolds, Alexander, and Kapoor are all in the field of endeavor of glass melting furnaces.
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
