Appeal 2007-1461
Application 10/463,956
I. BACKGROUND
The invention relates to a combustion process and apparatus. Claim 1
is illustrative of the subject matter on appeal:
1. In a combustion apparatus comprising a combustion chamber
having a plurality of primary combustion regions and a flue gas exhaust,
each of said primary combustion regions having a corresponding fuel input,
a method for controlling combustion of a fuel in said combustion chamber
comprising the steps of:
measuring a concentration of at least one flue gas component
indicative of fuel/oxidant ratio in flue gases generated by said combustion at
a plurality of locations proximate said flue gas exhaust, resulting in a
plurality of measured concentrations, each of said locations corresponding to
one of said primary combustion regions;
determining an average concentration of said at least one flue gas
component from said plurality of measured concentrations;
determining a delta value for said at least one flue gas component at
each of said locations; and
adjusting a fuel input rate as necessary for each of said primary
combustion regions, whereby said delta value is one of reduced and
increased to zero.
The Examiner relies on the following prior art references to show
unpatentability:
Pershing US 4,592,289 Jun. 3, 1986
Kychakoff US 5,010,827 Apr. 30, 1991
Khinkis US 5,205,227 Apr. 27, 1993
The Examiner rejects claims 1-3, 7, 13, and 16 under § 102(b) as
anticipated by Kychakoff; claims 10-12 under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as
unpatentable over Kychakoff; claims 3-6, 8, 14, and 15 under 35 U.S.C.
§ 103(a) as unpatentable over Khinkis in view of Kychakoff; and claims 8
2
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Next
Last modified: September 9, 2013