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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 4/13/2026 has been entered.
Information Disclosure Statement
Due to the excessively lengthy Information Disclosure Statement submitted by applicant on 5/12/2026, the examiner has given the listed references only a cursory review. In accordance with MPEP 609.04(a), applicant is encouraged to provide a concise explanation of why the information is being submitted and how it is understood to be relevant. Concise explanations (especially those which point out the relevant pages and lines) are helpful to the Office, particularly where documents are lengthy and complex and applicant is aware of a section that is highly relevant to patentability or where a large number of documents are submitted and applicant is aware that one or more are highly relevant to patentability. See 37 CFR § 1.56 Duty to Disclose Information Material to Patentability.
Response to Amendment
Examiner acknowledges amended Claims 1 and 23, withdrawn Claims 8, 9, 27-29, 35, and 43, and canceled Claims 21, 36-42, and 44-48 in the response filed on 4/13/2026.
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 1-7, 10-20, 22-26, 30-34, and 49 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.
Claims 1-4 recite “maintaining a suitable temperature, relative humidity, CO2 amount, gas stream flow rate, or a combination thereof, in the carbonation reactor” to achieve a carbonation rate constant of the concrete precursor at or above 0.005, carbonated concrete composite having uniform material performance, carbonated concrete composite without a material performance gradient, and minimize a material performance gradient in the carbonated concrete composite. Claim 1, in which Claims 2-4 also depend from, further recites the gas stream is provided to the inlet of the carbonation reactor at a flow rate of about 0.1 slpm to about 4.9 slpm, wherein the gas stream is humidified to a relative humidity of about 10 to about 24%.
Due to the alternative language “or”, it appears that the relative humidity and gas stream flow rate in the limitation “maintaining a suitable temperature, relative humidity, CO2 amount, gas stream flow rate, or a combination thereof, in the carbonation reactor “ is not necessarily required, yet the instant claims require specific flow rate and relative humidity values.
Thus, Claims 1-7, 10-20, 22-26, 30-34, and 49 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite in that it fails to point out what is included or excluded by the claim language. This claim is an omnibus type claim. For the purpose of evaluating prior art, a flow rate of about 0.1 slpm to about 4.9 slpm and a relative humidity of about 10 to about 24% are suitable and required in the carbonation reactor to achieve a carbonation rate constant of the concrete precursor at or above 0.005, carbonated concrete composite having uniform material performance, carbonated concrete composite without a material performance gradient, and minimize a material performance gradient in the carbonated concrete composite. Clarification and/or correction is required in the next response.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-7, 10-20, 22-26, 30-34, and 49 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action. Examiner further notes that non-elected invention (withdrawn Claims 35 and 43) would need to be canceled, and Claims 8, 9, and 27-29 would be rejoined.
As allowable subject matter has been indicated, applicant's reply must either comply with all formal requirements or specifically traverse each requirement not complied with. See 37 CFR 1.111(b) and MPEP § 707.07(a).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LISA CHAU whose telephone number is (571)270-5496. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 11 AM-730 PM.
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, Mark Ruthkosky can be reached at (571) 272-1291. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/LC/
Lisa Chau
Art Unit 1785
/Holly Rickman/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1785
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