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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 11/12/205 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
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.
Claim(s) 1-4, 7-8 and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a) (1) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over WO2019/060992Al.
Regarding claim 1, WO2019/060992Al discloses the use of carbon dioxide gas to cure concrete media for standard 20 cm concrete masonry unit (CMU) production by applying a pressure differential created through a partial replacement of the original ambient volume of air present in a curing enclosure with pure CO2 gas. See Fig. 1, [0001] and [0022].
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WO2019/060992Al discloses mixing aggregates, cement, and water for forming blocks having the shape of a standard 20 cm CMU. See Fig. 1, Fig. 7(a), [0022] and [0034] - [0036].
WO2019/060992Al discloses that the formed blocks are de-molded. The formed blocks contain water, cement and SCM. Thus, the formed blocks have a first water-to- binder ratio. See Fig. 1 and Fig.7.
WO2019/060992Al discloses that the blocks are dried. Thus, the dried pre-set blocks have a second water-to-binder ratio less than first water-to-binder ratio of the demolded formed blocks. See [0035]- [0037] and Fig. 1
WO2019/060992Al discloses a carbonation step and the pre-set blocks are
cured in a curing enclosure by injection of CO2 gas. The carbonation is carried out at a slightly positive gauge pressure, anywhere between 0 and 2 Psi. (for example 0.5
psi, corresponding to 3% of the atmospheric pressure). See Fig 1, [0005],
[0038] - [0041] and [0049].
WO2019/060992A discloses that the primed concrete blocks are placed inside an enclosure. A Neoprene polymer sheet, was subsequently affixed to the open-end of the enclosure and fastened using screws and a high-pressure sealant, thereby obtaining an air- tight enclosure. The expandable enclosure becomes inflated to a pressure of 0.5 Psi during the carbonation step. See Fig 7 and Fig 8, [0046] and [0049].
WO2019/060992A discloses that CO2 gas was injected in the enclosure until a positive pressure of 0.5 Psi was achieved therein and the enclosure was inflated. See [0049].
In the alterative, the reference differs from Applicant's recitations of claims by not disclosing identical ranges. However, the reference discloses "overlapping" ranges (0-1 psi), and overlapping ranges have been held to establish prima facie obviousness (MPEP 2144.05).
The rationale to modify or combine the prior art does not have to be expressly stated in the prior art; the rationale may be expressly or impliedly contained in the prior art or it may be reasoned from knowledge generally available to one of ordinary skill in the art, established scientific principles, or legal precedent established by prior case law. In re Fine, 837 F.2d 1071, 5 USPQ2d 1596 (Fed. Cir. 1988); In re Jones, 958 F.2d 347, 21 USPQ2d 1941 (Fed. Cir. 1992)
Regarding claim 2, WO2019/060992Al discloses that the carbonation is carried out at a slightly positive gauge pressure, anywhere between 0 and 2 Psi (for example, 0.5 psi, corresponding to 3% of the atmospheric pressure). See Fig 1, [0005], [0038] - [0041] and [0049].
Regarding claim 3, WO2019/060992Al discloses that the carbonation is carried out at a slightly positive gauge pressure, anywhere between 0 and 2 psi. See Fig 1, [0005], [0038] - [0041] and [0049].
Regarding claim 4, WO2019/060992A discloses that the process can be adapted to existing steam curing systems through physical retrofit modifications without incurring large, non-recoverable capital costs.
Regarding claim 7, WO2019/060992Al discloses a target loss of 35 % of the total water content of the formed blocks. See [0037].
Regarding claim 8, WO2019/060992A1 discloses that the loss of water in the pre-setting step, preferably a mass loss in the range of 30 to 50 %, allows to create spaces or porosity. WO2019/060992ALdiscloses a water loss of 35% corresponding to 0.349 kg or 0.349 L for a standard 20 cm CMU having a weight of 16.8 kg. Such a standard 20 cm CMU has a standard volume of 7.8 L. The water loss as disclosed by WO2019/060992A1. implies that the pre-set formed blocks are defined by a porosity of more than 4.5% by volume (= 0.349 L/ 7.8 L) for a water loss of 35% and thus even
Regarding claim 11, WO2019/060992A discloses that air was evacuated from the enclosure using a venturi pump at a sub-atmospheric pressure or vacuum of -3 Psi after 5 to 10 minutes. See [0049].
Claims 5-6 and 12-13 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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 11/12/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The applicant argues that the prior art fails to teach “a flexible enclosure from a transportation configuration to an in-use configuration and inserting the conditioned article inside the flexible enclosure in the in-use configuration; curing the conditioned article using carbon dioxide [...], including injecting the carbon dioxide inside the flexible enclosure and sealing the flexible enclosure to maintain the pressure during the curing of the conditioned article"
The Examiner respectfully submits that WO2019/060992A discloses that the primed concrete blocks are placed inside an enclosure. A Neoprene polymer sheet, was subsequently affixed to the open-end of the enclosure and fastened using screws and a high-pressure sealant, thereby obtaining an air- tight enclosure. The expandable enclosure becomes inflated to a pressure of 0.5 Psi during the carbonation step. WO2019/060992A discloses that CO2 gas was injected in the enclosure until a positive pressure of 0.5 Psi was achieved therein and the enclosure was inflated. See Fig 7 and Fig 8, [0046] and [0049]. Please note that an “expandable enclosure” is a form of “a flexible enclosure”.
Conclusion
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/SHUANGYI ABU ALI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1731