DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 2, 4, 5, 8 and 12 are objected to because of the following informalities:
change claim 1 accordingly: “the hollow fuel passage” (at seven locations in claim 1);
change claim 1 accordingly: “the at least two fuel ports each connected to the first end of [an] a respective injector boss, with the fuel ports being in the fluid communication with the fuel passage through the respective injector boss” (at one location in claim 1);
change claim 1 accordingly: the at least two fuel ports each connected to the first end of a respective injector boss, with the fuel ports being in the fluid communication with the fuel passage through the respective injector boss
change in each of claims 2, 8 and 12 accordingly: “the hollow fuel passage” (at one location in each of claims 2, 8 and 12)
change line 7 of claim 4 accordingly: “chamber.[[=]]”
change line 2 of claim 5 accordingly (see claim 7 in comparison): “at an angle less than 90˚.”
Appropriate correction is required.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a) because they fail to show ‘a proximal end of combustion chamber having an opening for … receiving therein and therethrough each fuel redirection insert’ as described in the specification and claim 1 portion D (in fig. 8, the radially inward pointing nozzle of the fuel redirection insert 30 appears to be received in an opening of the inlet pipe 12 rather than in an opening of the combustor 14; it is further noted that the instant fig. 8 also appears to properly show “the second end [of the injector boss 22] directed toward the combustion chamber”). Any structural detail that is essential for a proper understanding of the disclosed invention should be shown in the drawing. MPEP § 608.02(d).
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.
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.
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 and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pub. No.: US 2020/0003158 A1 (Maqbool) in view of Pub. No.: US 2010/0050645 A1 (Haggerty), US Patent 3,774,851 (Simmons) and Pub. No.: US 2007/0033940 A1 (Duverneuil).
The claim 1 preamble recitation “fuel injection system … to minimize protrusions” is read as intended use by the examiner and is given little patentable weight. (see MPEP 2111.02(II)). If the body of a claim fully and intrinsically sets forth all of the limitations of the claimed invention, and the preamble merely states, for example, the purpose or intended use of the invention, rather than any distinct definition of any of the claimed invention’s limitations, then the preamble is not considered a limitation and is of no significance to claim construction. Pitney Bowes, Inc. v. Hewlett-Packard Co., 182 F.3d 1298, 1305, 51 USPQ2d 1161, 1165 (Fed. Cir. 1999).
Regarding claim 1, Maqbool discloses (see fig. 3) a fuel injection system (the system includes a fuel tank, a fuel pump multiple fuel structures 306 distributed around the circumference of inlet pipe 304; see pars. 37 and 38) for use with a pulse combustor 302 (of pulsejet engine 301), with the pulse combustor (at 302) including at least an inlet pipe 304, a combustion chamber (see annotated figures below), an exhaust pipe 310, an ignition device 308, a fuel supply system (see fuel tank and fuel pump at par. 38, top);
A. a fuel assembly (the structure connecting the fuel tank the fuel structure 306; see par. 38; this must be hollow in order to supply the fuel) disposed around (the instant structure supplies fuel to fuel structures 306 that are distributed “around” the inlet pipe 304; see par. 37) the inlet pipe 304 and in fluid communication with (via fuel structure 306) an interior (at 302) of the combustion chamber (see annotated figure below) through a first end (proximal end; see annotated figure below) of the combustion chamber (see annotated figure below), with the fuel assembly comprising
i. a hollow fuel passage (the structure connecting the fuel tank to fuel structures 306; see par. 38, top) for passage of pressurized fuel (pressurized from pump in par. 38) around (fuel structures 306 are “around” the inlet pipe 304; see par. 37) the hollow fuel passage;
iv. at least two fuel ports (each fuel structure 306 has a fuel port to carry fuel from an inlet of the fuel structure 306, from the instant hollow passage discussed above, to an outlet of the fuel structure 306 providing fuel, see fuel spray in fig. 3, to the combustion chamber 302), with the fuel ports being in fluid communication with the fuel passage (see above);
B. a fuel injector (see annotated figure below; the instant fuel injector introduces fuel from the hollow fuel passage, discussed above, into a fuel direction insert shown in annotated figure below; the term “fuel injection” can be interpreted as “introduction of fuel … into … [a] combustion chamber”; Dictionary of Engineering, McGRAW-HILL, second edition; this is consistent with applicant fuel injector 22 that introduces fuel to fuel redirection insert 30 in fig. 8) in fluid communication with the hollow fuel passage (carrying fuel from the fuel tank; see par. 38, top, and discussion above);
C. a fuel insert (see annotated figure below; the instant insert is inserted into the combustor wall; see annotated figure below) connected to (see annotated figure below), and in fluid communication with, a distal end (see annotated figure below) of each of the at least fuel injectors (see annotated figure below; fuel travels through both the distal end and fuel insert and), with each fuel insert (see annotated figure below) having a nozzle (see annotated figure below) for directing a flow of fuel (fuel from fuel injector going into the instant insert) being output from the nozzle (see annotated figure below) at an angle to a center axis (of for example the combustion chamber); and
D. a proximal end of combustion chamber (see annotated figure below) having an opening (see annotated figure below) or sealingly (intended use; one of ordinary skill would understand when looking at fig. 3 that there is at least some sealing between fuel structure 306 and inlet pipe 304; the instant drawing is similar to applicant fig. 8 at 30 regarding sealing between inlet pipe 12 and insert 30) receiving (see annotated figure below) therein and therethrough each fuel direction insert (see annotated figure below), and the fuel direction insert (see annotated figure below) when so disposed, fuel from the fuel passage (fuel from the hollow fuel passage discussed in par. 38, top, and above) can be injected (see fuel sprays in fig. 3) into the combustion chamber (see annotated figure below) at an angle (the different fuel sprays emitted from the shown fuel structure 306 are at angle with each other; see fig. 3).
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[AltContent: textbox (combustion chamber)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: rect][AltContent: textbox (proximal end)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (opening)][AltContent: arrow]
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[AltContent: textbox (fuel structure 306 in fig. 3)][AltContent: textbox (fuel direction insert with nozzle portion of fuel structure 306)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (fuel injector (the opening and closing portion, i.e., valve portion of fuel structure 306; see par. 38, bottom); this is consistent with applicant par. 9, bottom and par. 11, middle.)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (nozzle)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (distal end)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (combustion chamber wall)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (plenum)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (base)][AltContent: arrow]
Maqbool does not disclose
A. the fuel assembly is a fuel rail assembly and comprising:
i. the hollow fuel passage rings the inlet pipe,
ii. connection tabs mounted on the fuel passage for facilitating connecting the fuel rail assembly to the combustion chamber,
iii. one or more injector bosses disposed around, and in fluid communication with, the fuel passage, with each injector boss having a first end, second end, and a center axis parallel to a center axis of the inlet pipe, and with the second end directed toward the combustion chamber, and
iv. the at least two fuel ports each connected to the first end of a respective injector boss, with the fuel ports being in the fluid communication with the fuel passage through the respective injector boss (see claim objections above);
B. the fuel injector connected to the second end of each injector boss and in fluid communication with the fuel passage through the injector boss; and
C. the fuel direction insert is a fuel redirection insert.
Haggerty teaches a fuel injector system (see par. 6) and further teaches (see fig. 1) A. a fuel assembly is a fuel rail assembly and comprising:
i. a hollow fuel passage (see annotated figure below) rings (see par. 38, bottom) a pipe (combustor casing 12; this is similar to Maqbool because Maqbool points out that the fuel structures 306 may be at the inlet pipe 304 or the combustion chamber 302; see par. 37 of Maqbool),
iii. one or more injector bosses (see annotated figure below) disposed around (the injector bosses, that are each a portion of respective fittings 20, are circumferentially distributed along the circumference of the hollow fuel passage; see fig. 1), and in fluid communication with (portion 18 of the hollow fuel passage receives fuel from a fuel supply source wherein such fuel is distributed to fuel injectors 14 via the annotated injector bosses; see annotated figure below and pars. 36 and 37), the hollow fuel passage (see annotated figure below), with each injector boss having a first end (see annotated figures below), second end (see annotated figures below), and a center axis (see annotated figures below) parallel (see annotated figures below) to a center axis (see annotated figures below) of the pipe 12, and
iv. at least two fuel ports (each of the injector bosses shown in the annotated figures below has a fuel port, see annotated fig. 3A below, that receives fuel from a respective structure at location 20) each connected to the first end of a respective injector boss (such each fuel ports are at the first end of the respective injector boss as shown in annotated figures below), with the fuel ports being in the fluid communication with the fuel passage through the respective injector boss (each fuel port receives fuel from a respective structure at location 20, the location 20 being a part of the annotated hollow fuel passage discussed above);
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[AltContent: textbox (expanded portion of Haggerty fig. 3A)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (second end of injector 14 boss)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (fuel port)][AltContent: textbox (first end of injector 14 boss)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (Injector 14)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (hollow fuel passage of embodiment of embod. of fig. 3 that is similar to embod. of fig. 2 of Haggerty)][AltContent: arrow]
B. a fuel injector 14 connected to the second end (see annotated figures below) of each injector boss (see annotated figures below) and in fluid communication with the fuel passage through the injector boss (portion 18 of the hollow fuel passage receives fuel from a fuel supply source wherein such fuel is distributed to fuel injectors 14 via the annotated injector bosses; see annotated figure below and pars. 36 and 37).
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[AltContent: textbox (Hollow passage)]
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[AltContent: textbox (First end of injector boss)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (second end of injector boss)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (expanded portion of Haggerty fig. 1; version 1)][AltContent: rect][AltContent: rect][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (direction of flow through combustion chamber)][AltContent: textbox (nozzle)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (plenum)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (hollow fuel passage)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: arrow]
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to provide Maqbool with
A. the fuel assembly is a fuel rail assembly and comprising:
i. the hollow fuel passage rings the inlet pipe,
iii. one or more injector bosses disposed around, and in fluid communication with, the fuel passage, with each injector boss having a first end, second end, and a center axis parallel to a center axis of the inlet pipe, and
iv. the at least two fuel ports each connected to the first end of an injector boss, with the fuel ports being in the fluid communication with the fuel passage through the injector boss;
B. the fuel injector connected to the second end of each injector boss and in fluid communication with the fuel passage through the injector boss as taught by Haggerty in order to facilitate providing fuel to the fuel injectors of Maqbool that are distributed around the circumference of inlet pipe 304; see pars. 37 and 38 wherein the fuel injectors of Maqbool are a portion of the fuel structures 306, see annotated figures above. It has not been discussed thus far the ii. connection tabs mounted on the fuel passage for facilitating connecting the fuel rail assembly to the combustion chamber; with the second end of each injector boss directed toward the combustion chamber; and C. the fuel insert is a fuel redirection insert. This results in the fuel structure 306 of Maqbool fig. 3 being parallel to the combustor at 302 instead of normal to the combustor 302 as shown in fig. 3.
Simmons teaches a fuel injection system (see col. 1, ll. 1-10) and further teaches (see fig. 3) a redirection insert 4 (of the stream from fuel injector1 3; the redirection insert 4 being inserted into the combustion chamber; see col. 2, ll. 35-40). It is further noted that “when a patent claims a structure already known in the prior art that is altered by the mere substitution of one element for another known in the field, the combination must do more than yield a predictable result.” KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 82 USPQ2d 1385 at 1395 (U.S. 2007) (MPEP 2143 I.B.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to substitute shape of the fuel direction insert (see annotated figures above) of Maqbool in view of Haggerty with the shape of the fuel redirection insert of Simmons for the purpose of substituting one known element for another in order to provide the expected result of routing fuel from a valve fuel injector to a nozzle in the combustion chamber of the combination. This results in the fuel direction insert of Maqbool having a 90 degree turn as taught by Simmons so that the fuel injector and fuel redirection insert of the combination look similar to the annotated figure below of Haggerty.
The combination teaches the second end of each injector boss directed toward the combustion chamber. One of ordinary skill when viewing fig. 1 and expanded portion of fig. 1; version 1, above, one would understand that the direction of flow through the combustion chamber is shown by the annotated arrow (i.e., the left side of gas turbine 12 is towards the front of the engine). Thus in the combination the second end would be directed towards the combustion chamber (as opposed to towards the inlet of the inlet pipe 304 of Maqbool for example).
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[AltContent: textbox (hollow fuel passage taught by Haggerty)][AltContent: textbox (fuel injector disclosed by Maqbool)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (expanded portion of Haggerty fig. 1; version 2)][AltContent: textbox (Injector boss taught by Haggerty)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (Nozzle disclosed by Maqbool)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: arc][AltContent: textbox (shape of fuel redirection insert taught by Simmons embodied into the fuel direction insert of Maqbool)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (plenum)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (base of insert)][AltContent: arrow]
Duverneuil teaches a fuel injection system (see abstract) and further teaches (see figs. 1 and 2) connection tabs 36 mounted on a fuel passage 18 for facilitating connecting a fuel rail assembly 18,22 to a combustion chamber casing 12 (see par. 21).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to provide Maqbool in view of Haggerty and Simmons with connection tabs mounted on the fuel passage for facilitating connecting the fuel rail assembly to the combustion chamber as taught by Duverneuil in order to facilitate securing the fuel rail of the combination with a rigid connection while taking into account thermal expansion (see Duverneuil pars. 3 and 4).
Regarding claim 2, Maqbool in view of Haggerty, Simmons and Duverneuil teach the current invention as claimed and discussed above. The teachings of Haggerty applied to Maqbool in the claim 1 analysis above include the hollow fuel passage (see annotated figure above) includes a circular shape (the portions 18 of the hollow fuel passage can extend 360 degrees; see par. 38; also, Haggerty teaches the general concept of the interior passage 18 wherein the fuel flow is located can be circular, see fig. 10).
Regarding claim 3, Maqbool in view of Haggerty, Simmons and Duverneuil teach the current invention as claimed and discussed above. The teachings of Haggerty applied to Maqbool in the claim 1 analysis above include the injector bosses (see annotated figures above) include hollow (see injector boss at location 32 in annotated figure above of Haggerty fig. 3A) and cylindrical shapes (see location 25).
Regarding claim 11, Maqbool in view of Haggerty, Simmons and Duverneuil teach the current invention as claimed and discussed above. The combination teaches of the at least two fuel ports (the at least two fuel ports discussed in the claim 1 analysis above with regard to the disclosure of Maqbool and the teachings of Haggerty are in fluid communication with the annotated hollow fuel passage above), a first fuel port is connected (the fuel ports of all the injector bosses as shown in Haggerty fig. 3A above are connected to source 22 via the hollow fuel passage annotated above) to a source 22 (see fig. 1 of Haggerty) of pressurized fuel (the fuel of the combination is pressurized by the pump of Maqbool; see par. 38) to be injected into the combustion chamber (the fuel is injected into the combustion chamber 302 of Maqbool via the annotated nozzle of Maqbool above).
Claim(s) 4-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Maqbool in view of Haggerty, Simmons and Duverneuil as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of US Patent 3,029,603 (Brown).
Regarding claim 4, Maqbool in view of Haggerty, Simmons and Duverneuil teach the current invention as claimed and discussed above. The combination teaches (see annotated figures of Maqbool, and Haggerty above) the fuel redirection insert further includes A. a base (see annotated figures above) for connecting the fuel redirection insert (4, see fig. 4 of Simmons; also see annotated figures above) to the injector (see annotated figures above), B. a fuel redirection plenum (see annotated figures above) connected to the base for receiving pressured fuel in the fuel redirection insert (see annotated figure above), and C. the nozzle (see annotated figures above) connected to the plenum (see annotated figures above) for disbursing pressurized fuel into the combustion chamber 302 (see fig. 3 of Maqbool). The combination does not teach the base is a baseplate.
Brown teaches a fuel injection system for an aerospace vehicle (see title, and col. 1, ll. 9-15) and further teaches a baseplate (see annotated figure below) (of a fuel redirection insert for connecting the fuel redirection insert).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to provide Maqbool in view of Haggerty, Simmons and Duverneuil with the base is a baseplate as taught by Brown in order to facilitate ease of assembly (this permits removal or replacement of a fuel injector without having to remove the injector boss and hollow fuel passage).
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[AltContent: textbox (baseplate)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (fuel redirection insert)][AltContent: arrow]
Regarding claim 5, Maqbool in view of Haggerty, Simmons, Duverneuil and Brown teach the current invention as claimed and discussed above. Maqbool further discloses the nozzle (see annotated figure below) disburses pressurized fuel (see annotated figure below) into the combustion chamber at an angle less than 90˚ (see annotated figure below). It is noted that the claim does not specify the features between which the angle is formed.
Regarding claim 6, Maqbool in view of Haggerty, Simmons, Duverneuil and Brown teach the current invention as claimed and discussed above. Maqbool further discloses the nozzle (see annotated figure below) disburses pressurized fuel (see annotated figure below) into the combustion chamber at a 90˚ angle (see annotated figure below).
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[AltContent: textbox (fuel structure 306 in Maqbool fig. 3)][AltContent: textbox (less than 90°)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: arc][AltContent: arc][AltContent: textbox (90° angle)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: arc][AltContent: textbox (greater than 90°)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (nozzle)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (fuel (see par. 38))][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: arrow]
Regarding claim 7, Maqbool in view of Haggerty, Simmons, Duverneuil and Brown teach the current invention as claimed and discussed above. Maqbool further discloses the nozzle (see annotated figure above) disburses pressurized fuel (see annotated figure above) into the combustion chamber at an angle greater than 90˚ (see annotated figure above).
Claim(s) 8-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Maqbool in view of Haggerty, Simmons and Duverneuil as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Pub. No. US 2003/0056514 (Lohn), as evidenced by US Patent 11,345,229 (Chaussinand).
Regarding claims 8-10, Maqbool in view of Haggerty, Simmons and Duverneuil teach the current invention as claimed and discussed above. The combination does not teach (claim 8) one or more measurement ports are disposed around, and in fluid communication with, the fuel passage, wherein (claim 9) a measurement port includes at least one open end for receiving instruments for measuring fuel properties, and wherein (claim 10) measurement instruments include fuel pressure and temperature instruments.
Lohn teaches a fuel injection system (fuel is conditioned, see fig. 1, and then subsequently injected via fuel nozzles, see par. 41, of turbine engine 16) and further teaches (see fig. 2A) (claim 8) one or more measurement ports are disposed around (this can be interpreted as “in connection with .. something; Oxford Learner’s Dictionary online; such ports are connected with the annotated fuel passage below), and in fluid communication with (one or ordinary skill would understand the annotated figure below to show that an opening at “50” for instrumentation 50 to measure the fuel via fluid communication) the opening (one or ordinary skill would understand the drawing to show that an opening at “50” for instrumentation 50 to measure the fuel via fluid communication) in the fuel passage (see annotated figure below), the fuel passage, wherein (claim 9) a measurement port includes at least one open end (one of ordinary skill would understand the annotated figure below to show and opening to receive instrumentation to put the instrumentation in fluid communication with an opening, see annotated figure below, in the fuel passage) for receiving instruments 50 for measuring fuel properties, and wherein (claim 10) measurement instruments include fuel pressure and temperature instruments (see par. 23 and claim 15). Lohn’s teachings are evidenced by Chaussinand (see figs. 1 and 2, and claim 12) that shows that fuel temperature 4 and pressure 5 instrumentation are received in a port (hole through flange 2 in fig. 1, of the fuel containing structure 1) to be in fluid communication with the fuel in internal volume 20 of the fuel containing structure 1.
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It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to provide Maqbool in view of Haggerty, Simmons and Duverneuil with (claim 8) one or more measurement ports are disposed around, and in fluid communication with, the fuel passage, wherein (claim 9) a measurement port includes at least one open end for receiving instruments for measuring fuel properties, and wherein (claim 10) measurement instruments include fuel pressure and temperature instruments as taught by Lohn in order to facilitate improving efficiency of operation of the engine of the combination (see Lohn pars. 6 and 11)
Claim(s) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Maqbool in view of Haggerty, Simmons and Duverneuil as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Pub. No. US 2003/0221455 (Scott).
Regarding claim 12, Maqbool in view of Haggerty, Simmons and Duverneuil teach the current invention as claimed and discussed above including the at least two fuel ports (the at least two fuel ports discussed in the claim 1 analysis above with regard to Maqbool and Haggerty are in fluid communication with the annotated hollow fuel passage above). The combination does not teach a second fuel port is connected to a pressure regulator for regulating a pressure of pressurized fuel in the fuel passage.
Scott teaches a fuel injection system (see Abstract) and further teaches a pressure regulator 26, 28 for regulating a pressure of pressurized fuel (see par. 20) in a fuel passage (fuel manifold 14; this is consistent with the fuel manifold 10 of Haggerty that comprises the hollow fuel passage portions 18; see par. 36 of Haggerty).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to provide Maqbool in view of Haggerty, Simmons and Duverneuil with a pressure regulator for regulating a pressure of pressurized fuel in the fuel passage as taught by Scott in order to facilitate ensuring the fuel is conditioned for proper operation of the fuel injectors of the combination (see Scott par. 20). The second fuel ports of all of the injector bosses are connected to the pressure regulator of the combination via the hollow fuel passage.
Pertinent Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
temperature and pressure instrumentation in fuel manifold: US 20180298825 (par. 55); 20070113631 (par. 47); 20160047550 (par. 39); 20170138781 (par. 25);
fuel pressure and temperature in pulsejet: US 5665272 (col. 2, ll. 20-25); US 20200346765 (par. 98); US 20230257134 (pars. 34, middle and par. 86, bottom).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARC J AMAR whose telephone number is (571)272-9948. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00-6:00.
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, Devon Kramer can be reached at (571) 272-7118. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MARC AMAR/Examiner, Art Unit 3741
/LORNE E MEADE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3741
1 Fuel injector 3 being a valve upstream of a fuel redirection insert 4 is consistent with applicant fuel injector 30 being upstream of a fuel redirection insert 30 (see fig. 8) wherein applicant fuel injector comprises an injection valve (see par. 9, bottom, par. 11, middle, and par. 27, middle).