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. It is suggested that “size of a cross section” be amended to “a size of the cross section” in order to enhance the clarity of the claim.
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.
Claims 1, 2, 10, and 11, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Fan (CN113499698A cited in the IDS mailed 12/5/2024, a machine translation is provided).
Regarding claim 1, Fan teaches a slurry preparation apparatus (Figure 9, while the materials are considered intended use, the abstract teaches a slurry to be mixed), comprising: a slurry preparation device (figure 9 is considered the entire slurry preparation device) comprising a device body (housing comprising items 3, 5, 11, 200, 201, and 10), wherein a first feed port (opening of hopper above item 3), a second feed port (item 10), and a first discharge port are arranged on the device body (item 11), and the first feed port is used to input a solid raw material (the material is considered intended use however item 3 is described as a powder conveying device in the machine translation page 11 last paragraph); and a circulation tank comprising a tank body (item 6), wherein an input pipe (input pipe feeding from item 11 into item 6) and an output pipe (pipe feeding from item 6 to item 10) are arranged on the tank body (both pipes are arranged on item 6), the second feed port is connected to the output pipe (item 10 is connected to the outlet pipe of item 6), and the first discharge port is connected to the input pipe (item 11 is connected to the inlet pipe of item 6).
Regarding claim 2, Fan teaches a feed chamber (hopper above item 3) and an impeller dispersion chamber (portion of housing proximate items 3, 5, 10, 11, 200, and 201) are formed inside the device body (both the hopper and the housing proximate items 3, 5, 10, 11, 200, and 201 are considered formed inside the device body), and the feed chamber is located above the impeller dispersion chamber (the hopper is above item 3) and communicating with the impeller dispersion chamber (material from the hopper feeds towards item 3); and the slurry preparation device further comprises a dispersing head (opening in hopper that feeds to item 3) and an impeller (item 201 dispersing rotor is considered reading on an impeller), the feed chamber communicates with the first feed port and the second feed port (the hopper feeds material which is in communication with items 10 and 11), the dispersing head is arranged in the feed chamber (opening in the hopper is considered arranged in the feed chamber), the impeller dispersion chamber communicates with the first discharge port (housing portion proximate items 3, 5, 10, 11, 200, and 201 feeds material into item 11 and receives material from item 11), and the impeller is arranged in the impeller dispersion chamber (item 201 is in the housing portion proximate items 3, 5, 10, 11, 200, and 201).
Regarding claim 10, Fan teaches a solid material chamber for storing the solid raw material (see hopper above item 3), wherein a second discharge port is arranged at the bottom of the solid material chamber (opening in the hopper feeding material to item 3), a size of the cross section of a lower portion of the solid material chamber gradually decreases from the end far from the second discharge port (the cross section of the hopper decreases from its top end to the opening that feeds into item 3), the first feed port is arranged at the top of the device body (item 11 is considered at the top of the housing proximate items 3, 5, 11, 200, and 201), and the second discharge port is connected to the first feed port (opening of the hopper is fluidly connected to item 11 since material feeds from the hopper to item 11).
Regarding claim 11, wherein the circulation tank further comprises a circulation pump connected to the bottom of the tank body through the output pipe to provide circulation power for the circulation tank (item 7 which is connected to the pipe feeding into item 10 from item 6).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 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 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.
Claims 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fan (CN113499698A cited in the IDS mailed 12/5/2024, a machine translation is provided) in view of Hassan (U.S. Publication 2010/0294699).
Fan is silent to the language of claim 8. Regarding claim 8, Hassan teaches wherein the circulation tank further comprises a cooler connected between the second feed port and the tank body via the output pipe (paragraph 44 teaches cooling the material coming out of item 10, paragraph 39 teaches line 20 may be connected to line 21). Regarding claim 8, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the recirculation output pipe of Fan with the cooling configuration of Hassan in order to obtain the desired slurry product.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fan (CN113499698A cited in the IDS mailed 12/5/2024, a machine translation is provided) in view of Webb (U.S. Publication 2022/0250012).
While Fan shows a valve used in the circulation mixer (valve below item 6), Fan is silent to the language of claim 9. Regarding claim 9, Webb teaches a wherein the slurry preparation device further comprises a pneumatic butterfly valve adapted to the first feed port (see paragraph 27 which teaches using butterfly valves for the valves along piping item 105, valves are shown throughout the piping). Regarding claim 9, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the recirculation mixer of Fan with the butterfly valve configuration of Webb in order to obtain the desired flowrate throughout the mixer.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 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.
Regarding claim 3, the prior art does not teach or fairly suggest a slurry preparation apparatus with the combination of the hollow reducer and belt transmission mode.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANSHU BHATIA whose telephone number is (571)270-7628. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m..
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/ANSHU BHATIA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1774
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