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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 06/12/2026 has been entered.
Status
This Office Action is in response to the remarks and amendments filed on 06/12/2026. The previous 35 USC 112 rejections have been withdrawn. Claims 1-4, 6-13, and 15-20 remain pending for consideration.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION. —The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-4, 6-13, and 15-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the “cryogenic storage tank operation” in line 5. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
For examination purposes, the phrase “the cryogenic storage tank being configured to capture tank information during cryogenic storage tank operation” will be interpreted as -- the cryogenic storage tank being configured to capture tank information during a cryogenic storage tank operation --
Regarding claim 10, the claim recites “the gas use valve” which renders the claim indefinite. As recited, the claim is confusing because it is not entirely clear which structure the disclosed “gas use valve” is referencing. More clarity is requested.
For examination purposes, the phrase “the gas use valve” will be interpreted as -- the gas valve --
Claim 19 recites the limitation “a remote wellsite” in lines 29-30. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
For examination purposes the phrase “a remote wellsite” will be interpreted as -- the remote wellsite --
Claim 19 recites the limitation “methane emissions” in line 30. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
For examination purposes the phrase “to reduce methane emissions” will be interpreted as -- to reduce the methane emissions --
Claims 2-4, 6-9, 11-13, 15-18, and 20 are also rejected due to dependency.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-2, 4, 6, 10-13, and 15-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over EPA430-B-03-004 (“options for reducing methane emissions from pneumatic devices in the natural gas industry”, herein after referred to as EPA), in view of Brecheisen (US 10107295 B1), in view of Beuneken et al. (US20220026028A1, herein after referred to as Beuneken), and in further view of Taylor-Wharton (Manual HP/VHP-SERIES T-W P/N# 7950-8093 February 21, 2018, herein after referred to as Taylor).
Regarding claim 1, EPA teaches a cryogenic nitrogen sourced gas-driven pneumatic system (the system illustrated in Exhibit 1 page 3) comprising: a cryogenic storage tank (disclosed “cryogenic liquid nitrogen cylinder” in the “Other Technologies” section page 10) that stores liquid nitrogen (referring to the “Other Technologies” section page 10, a person skilled in the art would recognize that the disclosed “cryogenic liquid nitrogen cylinder” would store liquid nitrogen) under pressure (the “Other Technologies” section page 10 where it is disclosed that the gas pressure needs to be regulated), a gas circuit (see below annotated Exhibit 1 of EPA) with a gas valve (regulator Exhibit 1) configured to supply a nitrogen gas (in the “Other Technologies” section page 10, the EPA document suggest the use of Nitrogen instead of the natural gas employed in the illustrated system of Exhibit 1) to operate a pneumatic controller (Exhibit 1) to reduce methane emissions (the solutions provided in the “Other Technologies” section are for the reduction Methane emissions as disclosed in the “Decision Process” section page 5) by replacing a natural gas source (the disclosed “pressurized natural gas” in page 2 used to operate the system illustrated in Exhibit 1) that previously operated the pneumatic controller to control one or more operations (corresponds to the operations disclosed in page 2 when describing the operations of the system illustrated in Exhibit 1) of a remote wellsite (referring to Exhibit 1, a person skilled in the art would recognize that the illustrated system is a wellsite pneumatic system); wherein the nitrogen gas is used to reduce the methane emissions by replacing the natural gas source that previously operated the pneumatic controller to control the one or more operations of the remote wellsite (Exhibit 1, “Decision Process” and “Other Technologies” sections); and a vaporizer (disclosed “liquid nitrogen vaporizer” in “Other Technologies” section page 10), the vaporizer being configured to convert the liquid nitrogen into the nitrogen gas as the liquid nitrogen is drawn through the vaporizer (a person skilled in the art would recognize that the function of a vaporizer when use with a cryogenic cylinder is to heat Liquid Nitrogen and turn it into gas) and provide the nitrogen gas to the gas circuit to operate the pneumatic controller (Exhibit 1) to reduce the methane emissions by replacing the natural gas source that previously operated the pneumatic controller to control the one or more operations of the remote wellsite (Exhibit 1, “Technology Background”, “Decision Process”, and “Other Technologies” sections).
PNG
media_image1.png
466
706
media_image1.png
Greyscale
EPA teaches the invention as described above but fails to explicitly teach “the cryogenic storage tank being configured to capture tank information during a cryogenic storage tank operation; wherein the cryogenic storage tank is further configured to transmit the tank information to a remote device, the tank information being used in remote monitoring capabilities during the cryogenic storage tank operation as the liquid nitrogen is converted into the nitrogen gas to operate the one or more of the pneumatic controller or the pneumatic pump”.
However, Brecheisen teaches a cryogenic storage tank (cylinder assembly 112 Fig. 10 corresponds to the cryogenic storage tank of EPA) being configured to capture tank information (the disclosed “pressure of the compressed/pressurized gas” in Col. 34 lines 36-47) during a cryogenic storage tank operation (corresponds to the operation described in Col. 14 lines 28-43); wherein the cryogenic storage tank is further configured to transmit the tank information to a remote device (disclosed “mobile devices” in Col. 29 lines 12-32), the tank information being used in remote monitoring capabilities (Col. 32 lines 60-67 and Col. 33 lines 1-8) during the cryogenic storage tank operation as liquid nitrogen is converted into nitrogen gas (Col. 13 lines 54-67 where it is disclosed that nitrogen gas is being used inside cylinder 112) to operate a pneumatic pump (pump 3300 Fig. 33) to provide communication means among users (Col. 29 lines 33-53).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the apparatus of EPA to include “the cryogenic storage tank being configured to capture tank information during a cryogenic storage tank operation; wherein the cryogenic storage tank is further configured to transmit the tank information to a remote device, the tank information being used in remote monitoring capabilities during the cryogenic storage tank operation as the liquid nitrogen is converted into the nitrogen gas to operate the one or more of the pneumatic controller or the pneumatic pump” in view of the teachings of Brecheisen to provide communication means among users.
The combined teachings teach the invention as described above but fail to explicitly teach “a pressure build circuit configured to build and hold a pressure in the cryogenic storage tank; an economizer circuit configured to draw the nitrogen gas that forms in the cryogenic storage tank and provide the drawn nitrogen gas to the gas circuit for the one or more of the pneumatic controller or the pneumatic pump”.
However, Beuneken teaches a pressure build circuit (pressurization pipe 21 Fig. 1 and paragraph [0054]) configured to build and hold a pressure in a cryogenic storage tank (paragraph [0054] where first casing 1 and second casing 2 Fig. 1 correspond to the tank of EPA); an economizer circuit (corresponds to the pipe that connects first upstream end 221 to valve 22 Fig. 1 and paragraph [0049]) configured to draw nitrogen gas that forms in the cryogenic storage tank (paragraph [0049]) and provide the drawn nitrogen gas to a gas circuit (paragraph [0049] and Fig. 1 where the portion of drawing-off pipe 7 located between vaporizer 6 and downstream distribution end 72 corresponds to the gas circuit of EPA) for a pneumatic controller (Fig. 1 where a person skilled in the art would recognize that a device would be connected to downstream distribution end 72 to make use of the nitrogen gas, such device would corresponds to the pneumatic controller of EPA) to provide a working pressure (paragraph [0057]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the apparatus of the combined teachings to include “a pressure build circuit configured to build and hold a pressure in the cryogenic storage tank; an economizer circuit configured to draw the nitrogen gas that forms in the cryogenic storage tank and provide the drawn nitrogen gas to the gas circuit for the one or more of the pneumatic controller or the pneumatic pump” in view of the teachings of Beuneken to provide a working pressure.
The combined teachings teach the invention as described above but fail to explicitly teach “the vaporizer positioned internally within the cryogenic storage tank”.
However, Taylor teaches a vaporizer (the vaporizer illustrated in the Flow Diagram Figure of page 6 corresponds to the vaporizer of EPA) positioned internally within a cryogenic storage tank (Flow Diagram Figure of page 6 and the “Internal Vaporizer” section on page 7 where the disclosed “cylinder” corresponds to the cryogenic storage tank of EPA).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the apparatus of the combined teachings to include “the vaporizer positioned internally within the cryogenic storage tank” in view of the teachings of Taylor to reduce parts and provide a compact unit.
Regarding claim 2, the combined teachings teach wherein the pressure build circuit builds and holds pressure in the cryogenic storage tank by opening a regulator (regulator 14,20 Fig. 1 of Beuneken) when the pressure drops (paragraph [0057] of Beuneken) that allows the liquid nitrogen (liquid in paragraph [0057] of Beuneken which corresponds to the liquid nitrogen of Schneider) to flow from a bottom of the cryogenic storage tank (lower end of casing 1 Fig. 1 and paragraphs [0054]-[0057] of Beuneken) through a pressure build coil (heater 13 Fig. 1 of Beuneken) and back into a top of the cryogenic storage tank (upper part of first casing 1 Fig. 1 and paragraph [0054]-[0057] of Beuneken).
Regarding claim 4, the combined teachings teach the cryogenic storage tank is a double walled tank (double-casing cryogenic tank in paragraph [0046] of Beuneken) including an inner wall (first casing 1 Fig. 1 of Beuneken) and an outer wall (second casing 2 Fig. 1 of Beuneken) with a vacuum (paragraph [0046] of Beuneken) situated between the inner wall and the outer wall (Fig. 1 and paragraph [0046] of Beuneken), and wherein the vaporizer is positioned between the inner wall and the outer wall (Flow Diagram Fig. page 6 and “handling the Container” section on page 3 of Taylor where the disclosed “inner container” and “outer container” correspond respectively to the inner wall and outer wall of Beuneken).
Regarding claim 6, the combined teachings teach wherein the cryogenic storage tank may be in a vertical configuration (Fig. 1 of Beuneken).
Regarding claim 10, the combined teachings teach wherein the gas valve includes one gas connection (Exhibit 1 of EPA) configured to be attached to the pneumatic controller (Exhibit 1 of EPA) that normally operate using natural gas to control the one or more operation of the remote wellsite (Exhibit 1 of EPA).
Regarding claim 11, the combined teachings teach further comprising: a rapid fill feature (flange 8 in Fig. 1 of Beuneken) that uses a top fill valve (distribution valve 19 connected to filling pipe 10 Fig. 1 of Beuneken) and a bottom fill valve (distribution valve 19 connected to filling pipe 9 Fig. 1 of Beuneken) to fill the cryogenic storage tank without a loss of pressure (paragraph [0097] of Beuneken).
Regarding claim 12, the combined teachings teach wherein during a fill process (understood to be the process accomplished using the filling circuit disclosed in paragraph [0092] of Beuneken), the pressure of the cryogenic storage tank is controlled by adjusting a flow (paragraph [0103] of Beuneken) of one or more of the top fill valve and the bottom fill valve (paragraph [0103] of Beuneken).
Regarding claim 13, further comprising: a pressure regulating station (air venting regulator 16, 20 Fig. 1 of Beuneken) that includes an inlet pressure gauge (set 12 of one or more sensors in Fig. 1 and paragraph [0067] of Beuneken) and an outlet pressure gauge (set 12 of one or more sensors in Fig. 1 and paragraph [0067] of Beuneken)and one or more pressure relief valves (pneumatic or electrically controlled valve in paragraph [0067] of Beuneken) that opens to reduce the pressure when one of the inlet pressure gauge and the outlet pressure gauge exceeds a threshold value (high threshold in paragraph [0067] of Beuneken).
Regarding claim 15, the combined teachings teach wherein the tank information includes one or more of fill detect (disclosed “level of liquid” in paragraph [0088] of Beuneken) and low level (disclosed “level of liquid” in paragraph [0088] of Beuneken).
Regarding claim 16, the combined teachings teach wherein: the cryogenic storage tank that stores the liquid nitrogen under pressure (“Other Technologies” section page 10 of EPA), the liquid nitrogen is used in place of natural gas used by pneumatic devices (“Other Technologies” section page 10 of EPA), the liquid nitrogen being converted into the nitrogen gas as it is drawn from the cryogenic storage tank and provided to the pneumatic controller that uses pneumatic controls to control the operation of the remote wellsite (“Other Technologies” section page 10 and Exhibit 1 of EPA); the pressure build circuit configured to build and hold pressure in the cryogenic storage tank as the liquid nitrogen is stored (paragraph [0057] of Beuneken); and the economizer circuit configured to draw the formed nitrogen gas that forms in the cryogenic storage tank(paragraph [0049] of Beuneken).
Regarding claim 17, the combined teachings teach wherein using the nitrogen gas to operate the pneumatic controller eliminates harmful gases (disclosed “methane emissions” in the “Other Technologies” section on page 9 of EPA) previously vented by the pneumatic controller that previously operated with natural gas (“Decision Process” and “Other Technologies” sections of EPA).
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over EPA, Brecheisen, Beuneken, and Taylor as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Bingham (US5456629).
Regarding claim 3, the combined teachings teach wherein the liquid nitrogen flows from the bottom of the cryogenic storage tank through the pressure build coil and back into the top of the cryogenic storage tank (paragraphs [0054] and [0057] of Beuneken).
The combined teachings teach the invention as described above but fail to explicitly teach “the liquid nitrogen also flows through a strainer to remove any unwanted solids”.
However, Bingham teaches the liquid nitrogen (liquid and gaseous nitrogen in Col. 5 which corresponds to the liquid nitrogen of Schneider) also flows through a strainer (strainer 42 Fig. 2) to remove any unwanted solids (a person skilled in the art would recognize that strainer 42 will remove impurities from the flowing liquid nitrogen) to provide clean liquid nitrogen to the tank.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the apparatus of the combined teachings to include “the liquid nitrogen also flows through a strainer to remove any unwanted solids” in view of the teachings of Bingham to provide clean liquid nitrogen to the tank.
Claims 7-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over EPA, Brecheisen, Beuneken, and Taylor as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Schneider et al. (US4149388, herein after referred to as Schneider).
Regarding claim 7, the combined teachings teach the invention as described above but fail to explicitly teach “wherein the nitrogen gas that the economizer circuit draws from the cryogenic storage tank is formed because of natural heat leak into the cryogenic storage tank that converts the liquid nitrogen to the nitrogen gas”.
However, Schneider teaches wherein nitrogen gas (the disclosed “vaporized liquid” in Col. 4 lines 13-21 corresponds to the nitrogen gas of EPA) that an economizer circuit (vent tube 23 Fig. 1 corresponds to the economizer circuit of Beuneken) draws from an cryogenic storage tank (Col. 4 lines 13-21 where dewar 10 Fig. 1 corresponds to the cryogenic storage tank of EPA) is formed because of natural heat leak (Col. 5 lines 35-45) into the cryogenic storage tank that converts liquid nitrogen (cryogenic liquid 18 Fig. 1 corresponds to the liquid nitrogen of EPA) to the nitrogen gas (Col. 5 lines 35-45) to maintain the vapor pressure above the surface of liquid nitrogen (Col. 5 lines 35-45).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the apparatus of the combined teachings to include “wherein the nitrogen gas that the economizer circuit draws from the cryogenic storage tank is formed because of natural heat leak into the cryogenic storage tank that converts the liquid nitrogen to the nitrogen gas” in view of the teachings of Schneider to maintain the vapor pressure above the surface of liquid nitrogen.
Regarding claim 8, the combined teachings teach wherein the economizer circuit draws the formed nitrogen gas from a top (upper part of first casing 1 Fig. 1 and paragraph [0049] of Beuneken) of an interior of the cryogenic storage tank (interior of first casing 1 Fig. 1 and paragraph [0049] of Beuneken).
Regarding claim 9, the combined teachings teach wherein the economizer circuit reduces the pressure of the cryogenic storage tank (paragraph [0062] of Beuneken) by drawing the formed nitrogen gas from the top of the interior of the cryogenic storage tank (paragraph [0062] of Beuneken) until the pressure of the cryogenic storage tank reaches a set pressure value (working pressure PC in paragraph [0062] of Beuneken).
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over EPA, Brecheisen, Beuneken, and Taylor as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Roca Enrich Ramon (WO2005052439A1, herein after referred to as Roca).
Regarding claim 18, the combined teachings teach the invention as described above but fail to explicitly teach “wherein the cryogenic storage tank is mobile and mounted on one or more of a trailer and a skid”.
However, Roca teaches wherein a cryogenic storage tank (container tank 3 Fig. 1 which corresponds to the tank of EPA) is mobile and mounted on a trailer (tanker truck Fig. 1).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the apparatus of the combined teachings to include “wherein the cryogenic storage tank is mobile and mounted on one or more of a trailer and a skid” in view of the teachings of Roca to allow the cryogenic liquid to be taken to remote supply stations.
Claims 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schneider, in view of Brecheisen, in view of EPA, in view of Beuneken, and in further view Taylor.
Regarding claim 19, Schneider teaches a method (Col. 4 lines 47-62) of filling and using a cryogenic nitrogen sourced gas-driven pneumatic system (the system illustrated in Fig. 1), the method comprising: connecting a transfer hose (a person skilled in the art would recognize that a transfer hose is connecting the source of cryogenic liquid disclosed in Col. 4 line 49 to dewar 10) to a rapid fill connection (fluid fill inlet 26 Fig. 1) on a tank (dewar 10 Fig. 1); delivering liquid nitrogen (cryogenic liquid in Col. 4 lines 47-62) into the tank; opening a trycock valve (vent valve 31 Fig. 1 and Col. 4 lines 47-62 where a trycock valve is understood to be a valve used to determine a liquid level); halting delivery of the liquid nitrogen into the tank when the trycock valve emits a liquid (Col. 4 lines 47-62); closing the trycock valve (Col. 4 lines 47-62); disconnecting the transfer hose from the rapid fill connection (Col. 4 lines 47-62); converting the liquid nitrogen in the tank to a gas (Col. 5 lines 18-23 where it is disclosed that the liquid nitrogen vaporizes) using a vaporizer (heat exchanger 37 Fig. 1).
Schneider teaches the invention as described above but fails to explicitly teach “the tank being configured to capture tank information during tank operations; wherein as the nitrogen gas is provided to the one or more of the pneumatic controller or the pneumatic pump, the tank is configured to transmit the tank information to a remote device, the tank information being used in remote monitoring capabilities during the tank operations as the liquid nitrogen is converted into the nitrogen gas to operate the one or more of the pneumatic controller or the pneumatic pump”.
However, Brecheisen teaches a tank (cylinder assembly 112 Fig. 10 corresponds to the cryogenic storage tank of Schneider) being configured to capture tank information (the disclosed “pressure of the compressed/pressurized gas” in Col. 34 lines 36-47) during tank operations (corresponds to the operation described in Col. 14 lines 28-43); wherein as nitrogen gas (Col. 13 lines 54-67) is provided to a pneumatic pump (pump 3300 Fig. 33), the tank is configured to transmit the tank information to a remote device (disclosed “mobile devices” in Col. 29 lines 12-32), the tank information being used in remote monitoring capabilities (Col. 32 lines 60-67 and Col. 33 lines 1-8) during the tank operations as liquid nitrogen is converted into the nitrogen gas (Col. 13 lines 54-67 where it is disclosed that nitrogen gas is being used inside cylinder 112) to operate the pneumatic pump (Col. 14 lines 28-43) to provide communication means among users (Col. 29 lines 33-53).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the method of Schneider to include “the tank being configured to capture tank information during tank operations; wherein as the nitrogen gas is provided to the one or more of the pneumatic controller or the pneumatic pump, the tank is configured to transmit the tank information to a remote device, the tank information being used in remote monitoring capabilities during the tank operations as the liquid nitrogen is converted into the nitrogen gas to operate the one or more of the pneumatic controller or the pneumatic pump” in view of the teachings of Brecheisen to provide communication means among users.
The combined teachings teach the invention as described above but fail to explicitly teach “providing the nitrogen gas from the vaporizer to a gas circuit to operate one or more of a pneumatic controller or a pneumatic pump that uses the nitrogen gas in place of a natural gas source to control an operation of a remote wellsite to reduce methane emissions of the one or more of the pneumatic controller or the pneumatic pump by replacing the natural gas source”.
However, EPA teaches providing nitrogen gas (Other Technologies” section page 10) from a vaporizer (the disclosed “liquid nitrogen vaporizer” in “Other Technologies” section page 10 corresponds to the vaporizer of Schneider) to a gas circuit (see below annotated Exhibit 1 of EPA) to operate a pneumatic controller (Exhibit 1) that uses the nitrogen gas in place of a natural gas source (the disclosed “pressurized natural gas” in page 2 used to operate the system illustrated in Exhibit 1) to control an operation (corresponds to the operations disclosed in page 2 when describing the operations of the system illustrated in Exhibit 1) of a remote wellsite (referring to Exhibit 1, a person skilled in the art would recognize that the illustrated system is a wellsite pneumatic system) to reduce methane emissions of the pneumatic controller (the solutions provided in the “Other Technologies” section are for the reduction Methane emissions as disclosed in the “Decision Process” section page 5) by replacing the natural gas source (Other Technologies” section page 10).
PNG
media_image1.png
466
706
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the method of the combined teachings to include “providing the nitrogen gas from the vaporizer to a gas circuit to operate one or more of a pneumatic controller or a pneumatic pump that uses the nitrogen gas in place of a natural gas source to control an operation of a remote wellsite to reduce methane emissions of the one or more of the pneumatic controller or the pneumatic pump by replacing the natural gas source” in view of the teachings of EPA to provide a healthier environment.
The combined teachings teach the invention as described above but fail to explicitly teach “opening a top fill valve; delivering the liquid nitrogen through the rapid fill connection; adjusting the top fill valve to change a pressure of the tank as the liquid nitrogen is delivered; closing the top fill valve; drawing the nitrogen gas that forms in the tank using an economizer circuit; and providing the nitrogen gas from the economizer circuit to the gas circuit to operate the one or more of the pneumatic controller or the pneumatic pump”.
However, Beuneken teaches opening a top fill valve (distribution valve 19 connected to filling pipe 10 Fig. 1); delivering liquid nitrogen (fluid in paragraph [0096] which corresponds to the liquid nitrogen of Schneider) through a rapid fill connection (flange 8 Fig. 1 which corresponds to the rapid fill connection of Schneider); adjusting the top fill valve to change a pressure of the tank (paragraph [0102]) as the liquid nitrogen is delivered (paragraph [0102]); closing the top fill valve (from paragraph [0106] a person skilled in the art would recognize that distribution valves 109 are closed after the filling process); drawing nitrogen gas that forms in a tank (paragraph [0049] where first casing 1 and second casing 2 Fig. 1 correspond to the tank of Schneider) using an economizer circuit (corresponds to the pipe that connects first upstream end 221 to valve 22 Fig. 1 and paragraph [0049]); and providing the nitrogen gas from the economizer circuit to a gas circuit (paragraph [0049] and Fig. 1 where the portion of drawing-off pipe 7 located between vaporizer 6 and downstream distribution end 72 corresponds to the gas circuit of EPA) to operate a pneumatic controller (Fig. 1 where a person skilled in the art would recognize that a device would be connected to downstream distribution end 72 to make use of the nitrogen gas, such device would corresponds to the pneumatic controller of EPA) to provide a working pressure (paragraph [0057]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the method of the combined teachings to include “opening a top fill valve; delivering the liquid nitrogen through the rapid fill connection; adjusting the top fill valve to change a pressure of the tank as the liquid nitrogen is delivered; closing the top fill valve; drawing the nitrogen gas that forms in the tank using an economizer circuit; and providing the nitrogen gas from the economizer circuit to the gas circuit to operate the one or more of the pneumatic controller or the pneumatic pump” in view of the teachings of Beuneken to provide a working pressure.
The combined teachings teach the invention as described above but fail to explicitly teach “the vaporizer positioned internally within the cryogenic storage tank”.
However, Taylor teaches a vaporizer (the vaporizer illustrated in the Flow Diagram Figure of page 6 corresponds to the vaporizer of EPA) positioned internally within a cryogenic storage tank (Flow Diagram Figure of page 6 and the “Internal Vaporizer” section on page 7 where the disclosed “cylinder” corresponds to the cryogenic storage tank of EPA).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the method of the combined teachings to include “the vaporizer positioned internally within the cryogenic storage tank” in view of the teachings of Taylor to reduce parts and provide a compact unit.
Regarding claim 20, the combined teachings teach wherein adjusting the top fill valve to change the pressure of the tank as the liquid nitrogen is delivered further comprises: adjusting a bottom fill valve (distribution valve 19 connected to filling pipe 9 Fig. 1 of Beuneken) to maintain the pressure of the tank as the liquid nitrogen is delivered (paragraph [0103] of Beuneken).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed on 06/12/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In response to Applicant's arguments against the references individually, one cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981); In re Merck & Co., 800 F.2d 1091, 231 USPQ 375 (Fed. Cir. 1986).
For clarity purposes, the above rejection of amended claim 1 is repeated below:
EPA teaches a gas circuit (see below annotated Exhibit 1 of EPA) with a gas valve (regulator Exhibit 1) configured to supply a nitrogen gas (in the “Other Technologies” section page 10, the EPA document suggest the use of Nitrogen instead of the natural gas employed in the illustrated system of Exhibit 1) to operate a pneumatic controller (Exhibit 1) to reduce methane emissions (the solutions provided in the “Other Technologies” section are for the reduction Methane emissions as disclosed in the “Decision Process” section page 5) by replacing a natural gas source (the disclosed “pressurized natural gas” in page 2 used to operate the system illustrated in Exhibit 1) that previously operated the pneumatic controller to control one or more operations (corresponds to the operations disclosed in page 2 when describing the operations of the system illustrated in Exhibit 1) of a remote wellsite (referring to Exhibit 1, a person skilled in the art would recognize that the illustrated system is a wellsite pneumatic system); wherein the nitrogen gas is used to reduce the methane emissions by replacing the natural gas source that previously operated the pneumatic controller to control the one or more operations of the remote wellsite (Exhibit 1, “Decision Process” and “Other Technologies” sections); and a vaporizer (disclosed “liquid nitrogen vaporizer” in “Other Technologies” section page 10), the vaporizer being configured to convert the liquid nitrogen into the nitrogen gas as the liquid nitrogen is drawn through the vaporizer (a person skilled in the art would recognize that the function of a vaporizer when use with a cryogenic cylinder is to heat Liquid Nitrogen and turn it into gas) and provide the nitrogen gas to the gas circuit to operate the pneumatic controller (Exhibit 1) to reduce the methane emissions by replacing the natural gas source that previously operated the pneumatic controller to control the one or more operations of the remote wellsite (Exhibit 1, “Technology Background”, “Decision Process”, and “Other Technologies” sections).
PNG
media_image1.png
466
706
media_image1.png
Greyscale
The system of EPA is modified in view of the teachings of Brecheisen to include a cryogenic storage tank (cylinder assembly 112 Fig. 10) being configured to capture tank information (the disclosed “pressure of the compressed/pressurized gas” in Col. 34 lines 36-47) during a cryogenic storage tank operation (corresponds to the operation described in Col. 14 lines 28-43); wherein the cryogenic storage tank is further configured to transmit the tank information to a remote device (disclosed “mobile devices” in Col. 29 lines 12-32), the tank information being used in remote monitoring capabilities (Col. 32 lines 60-67 and Col. 33 lines 1-8) during the cryogenic storage tank operation as liquid nitrogen is converted into nitrogen gas (Col. 13 lines 54-67 where it is disclosed that nitrogen gas is being used inside cylinder 112) to operate a pneumatic pump (pump 3300 Fig. 33) to provide communication means among users (Col. 29 lines 33-53).
The system of EPA is further modified by the teachings of Beuneken to include a pressure build circuit (pressurization pipe 21 Fig. 1 and paragraph [0054]) configured to build and hold a pressure in a cryogenic storage tank (paragraph [0054] where first casing 1 and second casing 2 Fig. 1 correspond to the tank); an economizer circuit (corresponds to the pipe that connects first upstream end 221 to valve 22 Fig. 1 and paragraph [0049]) configured to draw nitrogen gas that forms in the cryogenic storage tank (paragraph [0049]) and provide the drawn nitrogen gas to a gas circuit (paragraph [0049] and Fig. 1 where the portion of drawing-off pipe 7 located between vaporizer 6 and downstream distribution end 72 corresponds to the gas circuit) for a pneumatic controller (Fig. 1 where a person skilled in the art would recognize that a device would be connected to downstream distribution end 72 to make use of the nitrogen gas, such device could corresponds to the pneumatic controller) to provide a working pressure (paragraph [0057]).
The system of EPA is also further modified by the teachings of Taylor to include a vaporizer (the vaporizer illustrated in the Flow Diagram Figure of page 6 corresponds to the vaporizer) positioned internally within a cryogenic storage tank (Flow Diagram Figure of page 6 and the “Internal Vaporizer” section on page 7 where the disclosed “cylinder” corresponds to the cryogenic storage tank) to reduce parts and provide a compact unit.
Therefore, Applicant’s arguments are not persuasive and the rejections are maintained.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SAMBA NMN GAYE whose telephone number is (571)272-8809. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 4:30AM to 2:30PM.
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, Jerry -Daryl Fletcher can be reached at 571-270-5054. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/SAMBA NMN GAYE/Examiner, Art Unit 3763
/JERRY-DARYL FLETCHER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3763
Prosecution Insights