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
Claim 10 is objected to because of the following informalities: line 2 of the claim recites “means for locking the nozzle in the member”, which should be revised as “means for locking the nozzle in the first member”. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 7-14, 17, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by NL 1041574 A to de Pater (de Pater).
In reference to independent claim 1, de Pater discloses:
A device (400) for drying a nozzle (100) for liquified gas, wherein the device (400) comprises:
a first member (holder 10) for receiving the nozzle (100);
a heating unit (heating element 60) adapted to heat a heat storage (heating element 60 is provided in the holder 10 and serves to heat the holder 10);
a pneumatic inlet (at 71);
a pneumatic outlet (at 20) ; and
a channel (70) connecting the pneumatic inlet to the pneumatic outlet (see Fig. 2), wherein the pneumatic outlet (at 20) is arranged in the first member (10) (see Fig. 2) and the channel (70) is arranged such that a pneumatic flow within the channel is heated by the heat storage (air flows through channels 70 within the holder 10 that is heated by heating element 60; the air is thus heated within the holder 10).
In reference to dependent claim 2, de Pater further discloses: the channel (70) is longer than a shortest distance between the inlet and the outlet (see Fig. 2) to increase a contact area between the channel and the heat storage (this is intended use and the length of the channels 70 would accomplish it).
In reference to dependent claims 3 and 20, the channels 70 of de Pater is formed within the holder 10, which is solid block and serves whose temperature is maintained and heats the air in the channels. Thus, it would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the interior of the block/holder 10 acts as a sleeve.
In reference to dependent claim 7, de Pater further discloses: the heating unit (60) is any one of a heat cable (see Fig. 2), a pipe for hot liquid, and a pipe for hot gas.
In reference to dependent claim 8, de Pater further discloses: the device (400) comprises a first actuator (the heating element 60 is controlled by suitable means for heating and maintaining the block 10 at a specific temperature) to activate the heating unit (60) and a second actuator (air supply means 71) to activate the pneumatic flow.
In reference to dependent claim 9, de Pater further discloses: wherein the second actuator (71) is actuated by insertion of the nozzle (when nozzle 100 is at position P1 sensed by sensor 80) into the member (400).
In reference to dependent claim 10, de Pater further discloses: the device (400) further comprise means (120) for locking the nozzle (100) in the [first] member (10), and wherein the device (400) comprises computer means to run a pre-determined program for drying the nozzle (this is implicit as heating is commenced based on detection of the nozzle 100 being inserted as sensed by sensor 80), and wherein the nozzle is released once the program is completed.
In reference to dependent claim 11, de Pater further discloses: the first member (10) is an opening (20) (see Fig. 2, the holder 10 includes a conditioning space 20 formed therein).
In reference to dependent claim 12, de Pater further discloses: the device (400) further is adapted to heat the nozzle (100) (the disclosure of de Pater is directed to defrosting or heating the nozzle).
In reference to dependent claim 13, de Pater further discloses: A method for drying a nozzle (100) for liquified gas with the device according to claim 1 (see above), wherein the method comprises the steps of: inserting the nozzle into the first member (see Figs. 1c and 3); actuating a second actuator (71) thus activating the pneumatic flow; and removing the nozzle (100) (back to position shown in Figs. 1a and 2).
In reference to dependent claim 14, de Pater further discloses: locking the nozzle (100) to the device (using retaining ring 120); initiating a predetermined drying program (a program is implicit as heating is commenced based on detection of the nozzle 100 being inserted as sensed by sensor 80) wherein the nozzle is dried; and unlocking the nozzle from the device upon completion of said predetermined drying program (back to position shown in Figs. 1a and 2).
In reference to dependent claim 17, de Pater further discloses: the channel (70) is a thread shaped (see Figs. 2-4, the channels 70 are thin, “thread-like” passages) recess in the heat storage.
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.
Claim(s) 6, 15, 16, 18, and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over de Pater.
In reference to dependent claims 6 and 18, de Pater further discloses that the holder 10 is made from a block of heat-conducting material. However, de Pater is silent regarding the heat-conducting material being a metal. Nonetheless, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the prior art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have selected a metal to be the heat-conducting metal as it is well-known that many effective thermal conductors are metals. Note, regarding claim 18, that the holder 10 is a block, i.e. solid.
In reference to dependent claims 15 and 16, de Pater discloses that the channels 70 are longer than the shortest distance between the inlet and the outlet (see Figs. 2-4). However, the disclosure of de Pater is silent regarding the channels being at least two or three times the shortest distance between the inlet and outlet. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the prior art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have chosen the length of the channel to be two or three times the shortest distance between the inlet and the outlet depending on the requirements and suitability of the system as a matter of design choice.
In reference to dependent claim 19, de Pater is silent regarding the heat storage is a metal body made of any of the following: aluminum, cast metal, iron, stainless steel or any other suitable metal material with sufficiently high thermal inertia to allow it to function has a heat storage. As noted above in reference to claims 6 and 18, it would have been obvious to select the heat-conducting material of the holder 10 to be a metal. Moreover, de Pater discloses that the holder 10 is a block of heat-conducting material that when heated by heating element 60 to maintain the holder 10 at a specific temperature, heats the air passing through channels 70. As such, it would have also obvious that the material of the holder 10 has sufficiently high thermal inertia to allow it to function as a heat storage.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4 and 5 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Ngoc T Nguyen whose telephone number is (571)272-7176. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00 am - 5:00 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, Steve McAllister can be reached at (571) 272-6785. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/NGOC T NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3799