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 .
Amendment filed 9/22/2026 has been entered. Claims 1-19 remain pending in the present application.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1 and 4-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kirker US 2005/0023219 (hereinafter Kirker) in view of Gay US 2022/0219177 (hereinafter Gay).
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Re. Cl. 1, Kirker discloses: An environmental facility supporting structure (Fig. 2) of a vertical heat recovery steam generator (see Fig. 2-3, the device is capable of being used in the intended use environment), the environmental facility supporting structure comprising: a plurality of supporting parts (6, 7, Fig. 2); a plurality of fixing parts (3, Fig. 2) into which the plurality of supporting parts is inserted vertically (see Fig. 2), and each having an extending part (see annotated figure 1) on at least one side portion; a seated member (4, Fig. 1) seated on the extending parts provided in the plurality of fixing parts (see Fig. 1); and a plurality of filter members (2, Fig. 1) provided at an upper portion of the seated member (see Fig. 1), wherein the plurality of fixing parts is connected to the plurality of supporting parts (see Fig. 1)
Re. Cl. 4, Kirker discloses: the plurality of supporting parts comprises a plurality of supporting rods (see 6, 7, Fig. 1-3) and an inserted plate (11, Fig. 1) connected to an upper portion of each supporting rod (see Fig. 1).
Re. Cl. 5, Kirker discloses: the plurality of fixing parts comprises a head part and a pair of fixing plates (see annotated figure 1), the pair of fixing plates being arranged below the head part at an interval therebetween (see Fig. 1), and the inserted plate (4, Fig. 1) is inserted into an insertion groove provided by the head part and the pair of fixing plates (see Fig. 1-2).
Re. Cl. 6, Kirker discloses: the extending part is arranged at an outer surface of the inserted plate (see Fig. 1).
Re. Cl. 1, Kirker does not disclose that the fixing parts are to be movable relative to the supporting parts according to vertical displacement resulting from thermal expansion during operation of the vertical heat recovery steam generator. Gay discloses a filter apparatus which includes a plurality of vertical supports (22, 24, Fig. 2a) that support fixing parts (21a, 21b, Fig. 2b) wherein the plurality of fixing parts are connected to the plurality of supporting parts to be movable according to vertical displacement resulting from thermal expansion during operation of the vertical heat recovery steam generator (see Fig. 2a-2b, Paragraph 0034-0035; the spacers and rods are metal and thus capable experiencing vertical displacement due to heating as claimed in the intended use limitation; further, Applicant’s limitation as currently written does not specify what parts experience the thermal expansion causing vertical movement so it is the Examiner’s position that the combined device could be used in an environment where a underlying supporting part would thermally expand, thus raising the vertical position of the device and meeting Applicant’s claim language).
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 vertical supports of Kirker to be structured as disclosed by Gay with reasonable expectation of success to enable for selective loading of the filter members. For instance, the user would be enabled to select the number of filter members (2) for each particular use and could otherwise add or subtract the filter members depending on how many are necessary.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-3 and 7-9 are 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.
Claims 10-19 are allowable over the prior art of record.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 9/22/2028 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Re. Applicant’s argument that the combination of Kirker and Gay does not disclose the limitations amended into claim 1, the Examiner disagrees. As set forth above, the limitation is met by the combination of Kirker and Gay. Further, the limitation is intended use since it refers to how the device is intended to be used rather than what the device is comprised of. Applicant is reminded that a recitation of the intended use of the claimed invention must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art in order to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. If the prior art structure is capable of performing the intended use, then it meets the claim. As discussed above, the device is capable of performing the intended use, thus meeting Applicant’s claim.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Eyers US 2012/0047855, Nicholas US 2011/0277430, Ayshford US 2010/0229514 and Cairns US 5084076 disclose other known filter supports presented to the Applicant for their consideration.
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 CHRISTOPHER E GARFT whose telephone number is (571)270-1171. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m..
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, Terrell McKinnon can be reached at (571)272-4797. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CHRISTOPHER GARFT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3632
