DETAILED ACTION
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 1/7/2026 has been entered.
Claims 1-18 and 19-21 (new) are pending. Claims 13-18 are withdrawn.
Response to Arguments
New arguments were not presented.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Claim 19 recites “the cooled regenerated catalyst exhibiting a radial temperature difference”, there is no language or related discussion in the specification which would support this matter.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC §§ 102-103
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 the appropriate paragraphs of pre-AIA 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 –
(b) the invention was patented or described in a printed publication in this or a foreign country or in public use or on sale in this country, more than one year prior to the date of application for patent in the United States.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
(a) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter 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 pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) 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 under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a), the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned at the time any inventions covered therein were made absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and invention dates of each claim that was not commonly owned at the time a later invention was made in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(c) and potential pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(e), (f) or (g) prior art under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a).
Claims 1-12 and 19-21 is/are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 as being anticipated by or alternatively over 103 as unpatentable over Li (CN 1664078 English translation attached was provided by application in parent case on 6/1/2016) (hereinafter “Li”).
With respect to claim 1, Li teaches a process comprising:
reacting a heavy hydrocarbon material with a catalyst in a riser reactor or a fluidized bed reactor to generate gas and oil products and a reacted catalyst, Li, page 1;
separating gas and oil products from reacted catalyst in a settler, Li, page 1;
stripping the separated catalyst in a stripping section, Li, page 1;
burning and regenerating the stripped catalyst in a regenerator to obtain a hot regenerated catalyst, Li, page 1;
cooling of hot regenerated catalyst in a regenerated catalyst cooler to form a cooled regenerated catalyst having a temperature in a range of 200°C to 720°C, Li, page 3; and
returning cooled or uncooled regenerated catalyst to the riser, Li, page 1.
The reactor comprises a reaction zone, Li, page 1. Li teaches wherein “the cold regenerated catalyst directly enters the first reaction zone, the temperature is independently controlled by regulating the quantity of the fluidization medium including air, steam and SO on and the quantity of the catalyst that returns to the regenerator. Therefore, the catalyst-oil ratio (the ratio of the regenerated catalyst to the raw material) and the reaction temperature of the first reaction zone can be independently controlled regenerated catalyst cooler adjust the temperature of the catalyst and allows adjusting the flow rate of the catalyst to feed independent of the regenerator temperature while still maintaining the material balance”, see Li, page 3.
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With respect to claim 2, Li teaches wherein the catalyst cooler is additionally used to adjust the temperature in the regenerator. Li, page 3.
With respect to claim 3, Li teaches wherein the regenerated catalyst cooler in the figure is a downflow type and used to adjust the reaction temperature of each zone.
With respect to claim 4, Li teaches wherein the temperature of a cold regenerated catalyst is between 200 and 720°C, which encompasses the claimed range of from 360°C to 650°C. Li, page 3.
With respect to claim 5, Li teaches further comprising controlling the temperature of a cold regenerated catalyst by adjusting a flow rate of a fluidized medium. Li, page 4.
With respect to claim 6, Li teaches wherein the reaction temperature is controlled by adjusting a ratio of a cold regenerated catalyst and feed of the hydrocarbon materials entering the reactor and adjusting the temperature of the cold regenerated catalyst. Li, page 3.
With respect to claim 7, Li teaches wherein the heat-taking medium may be water, steam, oil, among others. Li, page 4, 22.
With respect to claim 8, Li teaches passing cold regenerated catalyst back to the regenerator. Li, page 4-5.
With respect to claim 9, Li teaches wherein heavy oil catalytic cracking, among others. Li, page 1.
With respect to claim 10, Li teaches wherein the process is independent for reach riser or jointly implemented including gasoline and heavy oil risers. Li, pages 10+.
With respect to claim 11, Li teaches wherein the hydrocarbon material is a gasoline distillate at a reaction temperature of 300-650 C. Li, page 10.
With respect to claim 12, Li teaches wherein the hydrocarbon material is a heavy oil. Li, page 1. Li teaches wherein the reaction temperature is 400°C- 650°C. Li, page 20.
With respect to claim 19, Li teaches wherein blending and buffering the cooled regenerated catalyst in a device that provides a catalyst mixing buffer zone disposed in a downstream location of the regenerated catalyst cooler and before the cooled regenerated catalyst entering the reactor. Figure. Blending and buffering occurs in the catalyst cooler when the cooled catalyst flows with itself and with fluidizing medium. Note there is no definition of blending and buffering in the specification therefore it is given its ordinary meaning. When the catalyst is mixed with fluidizing gas, and caused to be fluidized within and flow through the cooler, the catalyst will be moved, mixed, blended together. The area for blending and buffering includes downstream location of the cool as shown in the figure where fluidizing gas 35 is inserted into the downstream of catalyst coolers 8A and 8B.
With respect to claim 20, Li teaches a process comprising:
reacting a heavy hydrocarbon material with a catalyst in a riser reactor or a fluidized bed reactor to generate gas and oil products and a reacted catalyst, Li, page 1;
separating gas and oil products from reacted catalyst in a settler, Li, page 1;
stripping the separated catalyst in a stripping section, Li, page 1;
burning and regenerating the stripped catalyst in a regenerator to obtain a hot regenerated catalyst, Li, page 1;
cooling of hot regenerated catalyst in a regenerated catalyst cooler to form a cooled regenerated catalyst having a temperature in a range of 200°C to 720°C, Li, page 3; and
passing “the cold regenerated catalyst [to] the first reaction zone, the temperature is independently controlled by regulating the quantity of the fluidization medium including air, steam and so on and the quantity of the catalyst that returns to the regenerator. Therefore, the catalyst-oil ratio (the ratio of the regenerated catalyst to the raw material) and the reaction temperature of the first reaction zone can be independently controlled regenerated catalyst cooler adjust the temperature of the catalyst and allows adjusting the flow rate of the catalyst to feed independent of the regenerator temperature while still maintaining the material balance”, see Li, page 3.
With respect to blending and buffering the cooled regenerated catalyst in a device that provides a catalyst mixing buffer zone disposed in a downstream location of the regenerated catalyst cooler and before the cooled regenerated catalyst entering the reactor. Blending and buffering occurs in the catalyst cooler when the cooled catalyst flows with itself and with fluidizing medium. Note there is no definition of blending and buffering in the specification therefore it is given its ordinary meaning. When the catalyst is mixed with fluidizing gas, and caused to be fluidized within and flow through the cooler, the catalyst will be moved, mixed, blended together. The area for blending and buffering includes downstream location of the cool as shown in the figure where fluidizing gas 35 is inserted into the downstream of catalyst coolers 8A and 8B.
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With respect to claim 21, Li teaches wherein a catalyst cooler may be provided “to regulate the regenerator temperature, to maintain it at the optimum value additionally used to adjust the temperature in the regenerator,” Li, page 3.
Conclusion
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/BRANDI M DOYLE/ Examiner, Art Unit 1771