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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 12/4/2025 has been entered.
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.
Claims 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claims contain 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, at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claim 1 recites “configuring, by the system, the current in the pair of coils proportional to a ratio between distance of the electromagnetic flowmeter form a flow distorting feature in the flow pipe and a characteristic length of the electromagnetic flowmeter” in lines 8-10. However, the original disclosure does not disclose configuring a current to be proportional to the claimed ratio. The examiner notes that paragraph [0026] of the specification discloses that the currents in the pair of coils are X/2 and 3X/2 when the distorting feature is 0D to 1D from the flowmeter and that the currents are 0 and 4X when the distorting feature is 1D to 2D from the flowmeter, but these expressions do not describe a current that is proportional to a ratio between the distance to the distorting feature and a characteristic length. For example, the mathematical expressions of the current do not use the characteristic length “L” or the diameter “D” of the flow pipe along with constants of proportionality. Therefore, the original disclosure does not support that the inventor possessed the claimed invention.
Claims 2-8 depend on claim 1 and are rejected for inheriting the same problem.
Claims 9 and 10 each include a similar phrase to that of claim 1 and are rejected for the same reason.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1, 9 and 10 have been considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JUSTIN N OLAMIT whose telephone number is (571)270-1969. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 8 am - 5 pm (Pacific).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Stephen Meier can be reached at (571) 272-2149. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JUSTIN N OLAMIT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853
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