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 .
Claim Objections
Claims 1-4, 6-10, 13-15, 17-20, 22, 24, 26, and 27 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1 recites “drums rotatably mounted” which should read “a plurality of drums rotatably mounted”
Claim 19 recites a scrubbing member adjacent to outer cylindrical surface of at least one of the drum” which should read “a scrubbing member adjacent to the outer cylindrical surface of at least one of the plurality of drums”
Claims 2-4, 6-10, 13-15, 17, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, and 27 are objected to for being dependent from an unclear claim. Appropriate correction is required.
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 4, 13, and 18 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 4 recites “directing a substance” where the examiner is unclear if this substance is the same ore new relative to the substance introduced in claim 1. A review of the specification has shown that these two substances are the same and claim 4 will be treated as “directing [[a]] the substance”.
Claim 13 is dependent from claim 11 which is a cancelled claim and the Examiner is unsure of the Applicant’s dependency. For examination purposes, claim 13 will depend from claim 1.
Claim 13 recites “including assemblies of brushes and slip rings configured to power the plurality of the electrically powered resistive element” where the “brushes”, “slip rings”, “the plurality of the electrically powered resistive element” all feature antecedent basis issues which render the claim unclear and indefinite to the Examiner. The Examiner will treat claim 13 as follows “including a plurality of assemblies of a plurality of brushes and a plurality of slip rings configured to power a [[the]] plurality of an [[the]] electrically powered resistive element”.
Claim 18 recites “the rotational axis” where the Examiner is unclear as to which rotational axis is being referred back to by the Applicant. For examination purposes, the term “the rotational axis” will be treated as “[[the]] a rotational axis”.
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.
Claims 1, 9, 10, 14, 18, 19, 20, 22, 26, and 27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2019/0045818 (Born hereinafter).
Regarding claim 1, Born teaches a continuous dryer for a substance that discloses a structure (Figure 1 shows a drying structure); a dryer system including drums rotatably mounted to the structure, the drums arranged on the structure to form a throat therebetween (Drums 1100 with throat 1410 and heaters per ¶ 82-84), a drive system to rotate the drums (Drive 1200 per ¶ 46-47), and a heating system for heating an outer cylindrical surface of the drums (Heaters per ¶ 82-84).
Regarding claim 9, Born’s teachings are described above in claim 1 where Born further discloses that the heating system includes a hollow cavity in the drums configured to receive a heating fluid (¶ 82-84 of Born discloses the use of a heating fluid which would imply a hollow cavity within the drums).
Regarding claim 10, Born’s teachings are described above in claim 9 where Born further discloses that the heating system includes at least one heating element in the hollow cavity configured to heat the heating fluid (¶ 82-84 discloses the use of a plurality of heating systems to heat the drums).
Regarding claim 14, Born’s teachings are described above in claim 9 where Born further discloses a hydraulic system in fluid communication with the hollow cavity (¶ 82-84).
Regarding claim 18, Born’s teachings are described above in claim 1 where Born further discloses that the rotational axis of the drums lie in a common plane, the common plane being generally horizontal (Evident from Figures1, 4, and 7).
Regarding claim 19, Born’s teachings are described above in claim 1 where Born further discloses a scrubbing member adjacent to outer cylindrical surface of at least one of the drum (1301 of Born in Figure 9).
Regarding claim 20, Born’s teachings are described above in claim 19 where Born further discloses the scrubbing member is located within a 6 o'clock and a 9 o'clock position relative to a clockwise direction of rotation of the drum (Figures 9 and 10 of Born).
Regarding claim 22, Born’s teachings are described above in claim 1 where Born further discloses a collecting system under the throat configured to collect the substance (1605 of Born in Figures 1, 9, and 10).
Regarding claim 26, Born’s teachings are described above in claim 1 where Born further discloses at least one of the drums is mounted to the structure with a translational joint (Figures 1 and 14 of Born with ¶ 63).
Regarding claim 27, Born’s teachings are described above in claim 26 where Born further discloses a biasing mechanism to bias the drum mounted to the structure with the translational joint toward another of the drums (¶ 63 of Born).
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 2, 4, and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2019/0045818 (Born) in view of US 2003/0062431 (Sonehara hereinafter).
Regarding claim 2, Born’s teachings are described above in claim 1 but are silent with respect to at least one feed conveyor configured to feed the substance to the throat.
However, Sonehara teaches an apparatus for treating a substance that discloses at least one feed conveyor configured to feed the substance to the throat (Figure 3 with belt 12b leading to the drums 15 per ¶ 65).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the feed mechanism to the throat/drums of Born for the conveyor belts of Sonehara to allow for a constant source of material to be fed into the drums.
Regarding claim 4, Born’s modified teachings are described above in claim 2 where the combination of Born and Sonehara would further disclose that the at least one feed conveyor includes a feed plate directing a substance to the throat (The end of the conveyor belt will serve as a feed plate sending the transported material into the throat/drums of Born).
Regarding claim 7, Born’s modified teachings are described above in claim 2 where the combination of Born and Sonehara would further disclose at least one feed screw in the feed conveyor (Sonehara Figure 3, feed screw 12a per ¶ 65).
Regarding claim 8, Born’s modified teachings are described above in claim 2 where the combination of Born and Sonehara would further disclose a wiper between the feed conveyor and at least one of the drum (Scrapers 1301 of Born in Figure 9 as well as scrapers 16 of Sonehara).
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2019/0045818 (Born) in view of 2003/0062431 (Sonehara) and further in view of EP 3231593 (Wenner hereinafter).
Regarding claim 3, Born’s modified teachings are described above in claim 2 but are silent with respect that each of the drums has a respective one of the feed conveyor.
However, Wenner teaches an apparatus for treating a substance that discloses the use of a plurality of conveyor systems to transport the substance being treated (Figure 2 with belts 2 bringing a substance from either side of the equivalent drums 1 and the throat formed between them). The resultant combination would be such that each of the drums has a respective one of the feed conveyor.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the singular belt feed of Born/Sonehara with the multiple belt system of Wenner to increase the intake volume for processing by the drums of Born.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2019/0045818 (Born) in view of 2003/0062431 (Sonehara) and further in view of 3835671 (Fleissner hereinafter).
Regarding claim 6, Born’s teachings are described above in claim 2 but are silent with respect to a sieve in the at least one feed conveyor.
However, Fleissner teaches a feed conveyor for a drying assembly that discloses a sieve in the at least one feed conveyor (Column 2 Line 60 through Column 3 Line 26).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the conveyor belt system of Born/Sonehara with the sieve conveyor belt of Fleissner to prefilter the material going treated by the drums of Born.
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2019/0045818 (Born) in view of US 2948966 (Hanson hereinafter).
Regarding claim 13 (as best understood), Born’s teachings are described above in claim 1 but are silent with respect to including a plurality of assemblies of a plurality of brushes and a plurality of slip rings configured to power a plurality of an electrically powered resistive element.
However, Hanson teaches a dryer system that discloses a plurality of assemblies of a plurality of brushes and a plurality of slip rings configured to power a plurality of an electrically powered resistive element (Figure 2 with Column 2 Line 56 through Column 3 Line 3).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the drums of Born with the structure taught by Hanson to ensure that the drums are heated and sealed to prevent leaks while operating at the required temperature.
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2019/0045818 (Born) in view of US 3313341 (Heinz hereinafter).
Regarding claim 15, Born’s teachings are described above in claim 14 but are silent with respect that the hydraulic system includes a tank, the tank being located at least partially above a top of the drums.
However, Heinz teaches a heat exchanger that discloses a tank, the tank being located at least partially above a top of the heat exchanger (Figure 1, supply tank 20 located above the heat exchanger 1). The resultant combination would view of the drums as heat exchangers and would place the supply tank of Heinz above the drums of Born such that the hydraulic system includes a tank, the tank being located at least partially above a top of the drums.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the hydraulic supply of Born with the tank and tank location of Heinz to allow for gravity feeding while ensuring that there is a constant amount of heating fluid ready to be applied to the drums.
Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2019/0045818 (Born) in view of in view of US 3313341 (Heinz) and further in view of US 3478439 (Hyldon hereinafter).
Regarding claim 17, Born’s modified teachings are described above in claim 15 where the combination of Born and Heinz would further disclose that the hydraulic system has a conduit network extending from the tank to the drums (Evident that the supply tank would be connected to the drums of Born that supply the heat as disclosed in ¶ 82-84 of Born).
Born, per Heinz, is silent with respect that the conduit network in fluid communication with a conduit portion of a central shaft of the drums.
However, Hyldon teaches a drum dryer that discloses a conduit network in fluid communication with a conduit portion of a central shaft of a plurality of drums (Figure 1 with pipes 18/22 acting as the supply pipes for heating the drums 12/13).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the fluid communication network of Born with the central fluid handling pipes of Hyldon to minimize the chance of leaking while simplifying the delivery of the fluid into Born’s drums.
Claim 24 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2019/0045818 (Born) in view of US 3442026 (Bernard hereinafter).
Regarding claim 24, Born’s teachings are described above in claim 1 but are silent with respect to a hood unit mounted above the dryer system and configured to collect steam and/or emissions from the dryer system.
However, Bernard teaches a drum drying system that discloses a hood unit mounted above the dryer system and configured to collect steam and/or emissions from the dryer system (Vapor outlet at 13 in Figure 1).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the drum dryer of Born with the vapor handling system of Bernard to ensure that any exhaust is routed to a safe location.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CONNOR J. TREMARCHE whose telephone number is (571)272-2175. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 0700-1700 Eastern.
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/CONNOR J TREMARCHE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3762