DETAILED ACTION
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of Group IV – claims 20, 29, 31, 33, 36, 38, and 39 - in the reply filed on 1/4/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that the groups share a common technical feature because
Elberg does not disclose “a first heat exchange element adapted to exchange heat with the sorption means”, as recited in claim 20. Applicant asserts that, according to the specification, the first heat exchange element actively controls the temperature within a desired range during the exothermic sorption process, and
element 1 in Elberg is functionally and structurally separate from the sorption tower 9 and does not exchange heat with the sorption means during the air drying process.
However, these arguments are not found persuasive because the features upon which applicant relies (e.g., active control of the temperate… to be within a desired range) are not recited in claim 20. The heat element in claim 20 only needs to be capable of exchanging heat with the sorption means. Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL. Claims 21-28, 30, 32, 34, 35, 37 are withdrawn from consideration.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claim(s) 20, 31, 33, 36, 38 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Elberg (FR 2457456 A).
Regarding claim 20, Elberg discloses a drying unit for drying a substance comprising:
a sorption unit (9) having:
a first inlet (11) adapted to receive a first stream of air having a water content W1;
a first outlet (bottom of tower 9, above element 20) adapted to exit a second stream of air having a water content W2, where W2 <W1 (water-averse solution 16 contacts the first air stream and dries it; see para. 8);
a second inlet (line upstream the pump 6) adapted to receive sorption means (water-averse solution such as sulfuric acid); and
a second outlet (22) adapted to exit a consumed sorption means; and
a sorption means contained in the sorption unit, the sorption means comprising an inorganic oxoacid (e.g., sulfuric acid) and/or its salt and water,
wherein:
in operation, the sorption means sorbs water from the first stream of air, providing the second stream of air (solution 16 absorbs the water from the moist first stream of air); and
the drying unit further comprises:
a first heat exchange element (1) adapted to exchange heat with the sorption means (solar distiller 1 heats the sorption means that contains the water, evaporates the water, the evaporated water condenses onto the surface 4, and then trickles down into outlet 5; see para. 8); and
an entrainment means (20, 21) connected to the sorption unit, the entrainment means adapted to receive the second stream of air and to separate entrained sorption means from the second stream of air (the sorption means plus water in the second stream of air condenses onto element 20 and collected in basin 21; see para. 8) .
Regarding claim 31, Elberg discloses the drying unit of claim 20, wherein the substance is a product of the food industry (agricultural products; see Title) and/or the beverage industry.
Regarding claim 33, Elberg discloses a method of drying a substance performed by the drying unit according to claim 20 (see rejection of claim 20 for citations unless otherwise noted), the method comprising:
(a) providing a first stream of air having a water content W1;
(b) contacting the first stream of air with sorption means, the sorption means
comprising inorganic oxoacid and/or its salt and water;
(c) obtaining a second stream of air having a water content W2, wherein W2 < W1,
thereby providing a consumed sorption means;
(d) contacting the second stream of air with the substance (25) thereby direct drying the
substance; and
(e) regenerating (in the solar distiller 1) the sorption means from the consumed sorption means by heating.
Regarding claim 36, Elberg discloses the method of claim 33, wherein, in (e), the sorption means are regenerated continuously (the sorption means 2 is continuously being heated by the solar radiation, which means the water attached to the sorption means 2 is continuously being evaporated; therefore, the sorption means is continuously regenerated)
Regarding claim 38, Elberg discloses the method of claim 33, further comprising:
pre-heating the consumed sorption means before regenerating the sorption means in (e) (the sorption means 2 must first be heated by the solar radiation before the water in the sorption means is evaporated away; the regeneration is not complete until the water is evaporated away),
wherein the pre-heating of the consumed sorption means comprises exchanging
heat between regenerated sorption means and the consumed sorption means (the pre-heated regenerated sorption means sink towards the bottom of the solar distiller 1, and consumed sorption means enter the top of the reservoir 2 via pipe 22; therefore, there is constant heat exchange between the bottom layer regenerated sorption means and the top layer consumed sorption means), and whereby the regenerated sorption means are cooled and the consumed sorption means are pre-heated (the regenerated sorption means is at a higher temperature than the consumed sorption means; therefore heat would flow from the regenerated sorption means to the consumed sorption means).
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.
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) 29, 39 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Elberg (FR 2457456 A) in view of Yao (CN 204153887 U).
Regarding claim 29, Elberg discloses the drying unit of claim 20, except further comprising regeneration means, the regeneration means comprising: a second heat exchange element adapted to exchange heat with consumed sorption means, thereby providing regenerated sorption means; and an economiser providing the sorption means in counterflow with consumed sorption means.
However, Yao teaches a different technique for regenerating a sorption means. Specifically, Yao teaches regeneration means comprising: a second heat exchange element (16, specifically the heat exchange structure inside 16) adapted to exchange heat with consumed sorption means, thereby providing regenerated sorption means (para. 51); and an economiser (18) providing the sorption means in counterflow with consumed sorption means (liquid desiccant from pump 17).
It would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art at the time of effective filing of the application to substitute the regenerating means of Elberg with the one taught by Yao (the solar distiller 1 of Elberg is replaced with the regenerating means and heat exchanger of Yao, and anything else needed for the regeneration system to function properly), such that the regeneration means comprising: a second heat exchange element adapted to exchange heat with consumed sorption means, thereby providing regenerated sorption means; and an economiser providing the sorption means in counterflow with consumed sorption means
The modification provides for a more efficient regenerating means since the one taught by Yao is more efficient at removing the water from the consumed sorption means due to the increase surface area between the consumed sorption means and the heated airflow (Yao teaches where the regenerating means sprays the consumed sorption means so that water is removed from the little droplets). Moreover, pre-heating the consumed sorption means in the economizer improves the regenerating efficiency of the sorption means.
Regarding claim 39, Elberg discloses the method of claim 33, wherein: the consumed sorption means are preheated before being regenerated in a regeneration
Means (the pre-heated regenerated sorption means sink towards the bottom of the solar distiller 1, and consumed sorption means enter the top of the reservoir 2 via pipe 22; therefore, there is constant heat exchange between the bottom layer regenerated sorption means and the top layer consumed sorption means before the sorption means is regenerated by evaporating the water); EXCEPT the consumed sorption means are pre-heated before reaching the regeneration means by exchanging heat with regenerated sorption means coming from the regeneration means.
However, Yao teaches a different technique for regenerating a sorption means. Specifically, Yao teaches wherein: the consumed sorption means (liquid desiccant from pump 17) are preheated (Fig. 1, 18) before being regenerated in a regeneration Means (16) (para. 51); the consumed sorption means are pre-heated (18) before reaching the regeneration means (16) by exchanging heat with regenerated sorption means coming from the regeneration means.
It would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art at the time of effective filing of the application to substitute the regenerating means of Elberg with the one taught by Yao (the solar distiller 1 of Elberg is replaced with the regenerating means and heat exchanger of Yao, and anything else needed for the regeneration system to function properly), such that the consumed sorption means are preheated before being regenerated in a regeneration means; the consumed sorption means are pre-heated before reaching the regeneration means by exchanging heat with regenerated sorption means coming from the regeneration means.
The modification provides for a more efficient regenerating means since the one taught by Yao is more efficient at removing the water from the consumed sorption means due to the increase surface area between the consumed sorption means and the heated airflow (Yao teaches where the regenerating means sprays the consumed sorption means so that water is removed from the little droplets). Moreover, pre-heating the consumed sorption means improves the regenerating efficiency of the sorption means.
Conclusion
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/JASON LAU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3762
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