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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 12/4/2025 has been entered.
Examiner’s Comment
The Examiner has cited particular pages and lines in the reference(s) as applied to the claims below for the convenience of the Applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested from the applicant, in preparing the responses, to fully consider the references in entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the Examiner.
Regarding the limitation(s) “tunnel contact part” and “gradually” in the claims, the Examiner has given the term(s) the broadest reasonable interpretation(s) consistent with the written description in Applicants’ specification as it would be interpreted by one of ordinary skill in the art. In re Morris, 127 F.3d 1048, 1054-55, 44 USPQ2d 1023, 1027 (Fed. Cir. 1997); In re Donaldson Co., Inc., 16 F.3d 1190, 1192-95, 29 USPQ2d 1845, 1848-50 (Fed. Cir. 1994). See MPEP 2111.
For the term “tunnel contact part” in the claim(s), the Examiner notes that paragraph [0005] in Applicant’s specification discloses “when an underground structure, such as a tunnel, is constructed, pore spaces (or voids) inevitably arise in a contact part (collectively referred to below as a “tunnel contact part”) present between the underground structure, such as a tunnel, and the ground owing to the concrete injected to form the upper surface being insufficient or the concrete shrinking as its hardens and dries. Therefore, the tunnel contact part is filled with a ground material such as cement or mortar to shut off the water or to provide reinforcement.” Therefore, the tunnel contact part is the interface between two distinct materials or structural components, such as concrete and soil or non-artificial rock.
For the term “gradually” in the claim(s), the Examiner notes that the term is undefined in Applicant’s Specification as requiring a specific slope, rate, shape, step-wise manner, etc.
Response to Amendment
Examiner acknowledges cancelled Claims 1-47 and amended Claims 48 and 54 in the response filed on 11/6/2025
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to Claims 48-54 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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.
Claims 48-54 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 107840592, in view of evidence provided by Wikipedia “Tunnel construction”, and in view of US Pat. No. 4869621 (“McLaren et al.”).
With regards to Claims 48 and 54, CN ‘592 teaches that concrete is an important construction material widely used as a foundation in building projects, including subway tunnels. However, concrete is a brittle material that can contain multiple holes by external environment and easily produces internal injury or crack. The damage and crack can reduce the integrity of the concrete (Page 2: Lines 5-8). Thus, it is not an unknown ideology that concrete is used in tunnel construction. As further evidence provided by Wikipedia, tunnels are dug in types of materials varying from soft clay to hard rock and concrete is used to line the excavated tunnels.
CN ‘592 solves the voids/internal injury/cracks in the tunnel contact part between a base material (concrete) for forming a tunnel and surrounding structure by filling said voids/internal injury/cracks in the contact part. Specifically, CN ‘592 teaches an ion supplying material comprising ions capable of forming calcium carbonate for filing a void in a contact part between a base material for forming a structure, such as a subway tunnel, and surrounding structure, the ion supplying material being configured for filing the void in the contact part with calcium carbonate as supplied ions diffuse into the void in the contact part to form calcium carbonate with counterions present in the void (please see Abstract, Page 2: Line 57 bridging over to Page 3: Line 7 in the provided English translation document).
In particular, CN ‘592 discloses a concrete self-repair function additive comprising polybasic ion complexing agent, calcium bicarbonate, and water inhibition resin. The calcium bicarbonate provides calcium ions and carbonate ions (ions and counterions capable of forming calcium carbonate) by hydrolysis. The polybasic ion complexing agent and the ions formed by the hydrolysis forms soluble complexes that can migrate with water into pores, microcracks, and voids. The soluble complexes containing ions react with the silicate ions and carbonate ions in the pores, microcracks, and voids to form calcium silicate and calcium carbonate, which precipitate and repair damage and cracks (i.e. filling pores, microcracks, and voids).
CN ‘592 does not explicitly teach filling a void in a contact part between a base material for forming a tunnel and a non-artificial rock surrounding the tunnel with a material that forms calcium carbonate.
However, McLaren et al. teaches a method of artificially sealing cracks, fissures or other voids in earth strata, wherein sealing is effected by induced precipitation of calcium carbonate in alkaline rocks, other rocks where alkaline groundwaters are present, or in structures of alkaline materials such as cement or marble (Abstract). That is, McLaren et al. recognizes that sealing cracks, fissures or other voids by precipitation of calcium carbonate is suitable in both base material (cement concrete) and non-artificial rock (alkaline rocks, other rocks, marble). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have CN ‘592 also be used to fill voids between a tunnel contact part between a base material and earth strata/rocks (non-artificial rock), such as cement lined tunnels in non-artificial rock, in order to effectively seal any cracks, fissures or other voids, and thus maintain the integrity of tunnels.
With regards to Claim 49, CN ‘59, teaches the ion supplying material is configured to gradually release the ions (Abstract and Page 2: Line 60).
With regards to Claim 50, CN ‘592 teaches the ion supplying material further comprising a salt of the ions readily soluble in water (Page 3: Lines 1-3).
With regards to Claim 51, CN ‘592 teaches the ions include at least one of bicarbonate ion, a carbonate ion, or a calcium ion (Abstract and Page 2: Line 57 bridging over to Page 3: Line 7).
With regards to Claim 52, CN ‘592 teaches the ion supplying material is configured to supply counterions capable of forming calcium carbonate with the ions (Page 2: Line 57 bridging over to Page 3: Line 7).
With regards to Claim 53, CN ‘592 teaches the ion supplying material to configured to gradually release the counterions (Abstract, Page 2: Line 60, and Page 3: Line 1-2).
Conclusion
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/LC/
Lisa Chau
Art Unit 1785
/Holly Rickman/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1785
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