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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I in the reply filed on June 17th, 2026 is acknowledged.
Claim Objections
Claims 106 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 106, “of of the second group” should read “of the second group”
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 1-7, 12-13, 20-24, 29-30 and 105-106 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.
The term “substantially” in claim 1 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “substantially” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention.
Claims 2-7, 12-13, 20-24, 29-30 and 105-106 are rejected as they are dependent upon a previously rejected claim.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends.
Claim 2 recites “the method of claim 0”, it appears this should recite the method of claim 1 instead. Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-7, 12-13, 20-24, 29-30 and 105-106 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph and under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Claim 1 recites “c) substantially simultaneous to steps a) and b) or immediately following steps a) and b), size-separating the mixture of particles by gas-phase centrifugal separation forces in a vortex motion” wherein this limitation, in combination with the remaining limitations of claim 1, was not seen in the searched prior art.
The searched prior art teaches flowing a fluidized gas-solid stream of the mixture of particles and a carrier gas through a plasma region at a predetermined flow velocity and a predetermined solid-to-gas volume ratio and exposing the mixture of particles flowing through the plasma region to a non- equilibrium plasma having a predetermined plasma power density for a predetermined plasma exposure time, but does not teach size-separating the mixture simultaneous to or immediately following these steps (see Dudney et al. (US 2017/0200952), Sohn et al. (US 2013/0323595)). Size separation of a mixture of particles is more commonly performed after grinding a lithium ion battery cathode material (see Walch et al. (EP 2975686), Sloop (US 2017/0200989)).
Claims 2-7, 12-13, 20-24, 29-30 and 105-106 would be allowed as they are dependent upon claim 1.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Molly K Devine whose telephone number is (571)270-7205. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 7:00-4:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael McCullough can be reached at (571) 272-7805. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MOLLY K DEVINE/ Examiner, Art Unit 3653
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