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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 6/30/26 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
Amendments submitted on 6/30/26 include amendments to the claims. Claims 1-17 are pending. Claim 1 has been amended. Claims 16-17 remain withdrawn.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 6/30/26 have been fully considered and are found to be persuasive. However, a new ground of rejection is made in view of Huettinger et al. (US20170361358).
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.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-4, 6, 8-13 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Siegl et al. (WO2021198323A1) in view of Huettinger et al. (US20170361358).
Regarding claims 1-3, 9-13, Siegl et al. teaches a recovery system for recovering plastic recycling material (see abstract and page 2 of the translation, deodorization of the plastic material reads on recovery of the plastic material), capable of continuous operation (see page 3 of the translation) (reads on claim 2) and comprising: at least one rinsing chamber 13, comprising a rinsing container 13, capable of heating and rinsing the plastic recycling material 23, with a rinsing air feed 43, 45, 47 capable of feeding heated rinsing air into the at least one rinsing chamber 13 (see page 3 of the translation, figure 1); and at least one cooling chamber 15, comprising a cooling container 15 (reads on claim 3), capable of cooling the plastic recycling material 23 with a cooling air feed 27 capable of feeding cooling air into the at least one cooling chamber 15, wherein the at least one cooling chamber 15 is connected downstream (with respect to the flow of plastic recycling material 23) of the at least one rinsing chamber 13 and is fluidly connected to the rinsing air feed 43, 45, 47 via an exhaust air line (see piping connecting 15 and 47 as shown in figure 1) in such a manner that the exhaust air heated by the plastic recycling material 23 in the at least one cooling chamber 15 can be fed into the rinsing air feed 43, 45, 47 of the at least one rinsing chamber 13 (see page 4 of the translation, figure 4). Siegl et al. teaches that the rinsing air feed 43, 45, 47 comprises a rinsing air line (see e.g. piping between 47 and 13 as shown in figure 1) and Siegl et al. also teaches in figure 1 and page 3 of the translation that a vacuum pump 41 (the impeller of the vacuum pump reads on a suction fan or a suction-pressure fan) may be provided in the exhaust air line (see line connecting 13 and 41 as shown in figure 1, which is capable of discharging fluids such as air and/or volatile components of the plastic recycling material 23) of the at least one rinsing chamber 13, and provides a suction force to direct the flow of air through the rinsing chamber 13 and guide it further downstream (reads on claim 13). Siegl et al. does not teach that a suction fan is provided as part of the rinsing air feed in the exhaust air line of the at least one cooling chamber or a second fan provided with the cooling air feed. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention that a suction fan or suction-pressure fan (reads on first fan) may be part of the rinsing air feed coupled to the rinsing air line such that the rinsing air can be blown into the rinsing air line, so as to allow for additional suction force to direct the flow of air through the cooling chamber and supply it to the downstream rinsing chamber. Hence, it is readily apparent that the first fan may be disposed either upstream or downstream of the heating apparatus 45, such that the exhaust air line of the at least one cooling chamber 15 opens into the rinsing air line on the inlet side of the first fan or between the first fan and the heating apparatus 45 (reads on claim 11). Similarly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention that a second fan may be included with the cooling air feed so as to facilitate the flow of gas from the cooling air feed to the cooling chamber (reads on claim 9). Siegl et al. does not teach that the first fan supplies ambient air. Huettinger et al. teaches a continuous cleaning system (see abstract, paragraph [0002]) and that a fan 144 may provide ambient air that is combined with fluid from a rinsing air line 135, K such that the ambient air can be blown into the rinsing air line 135, K, allowing for improved cleaning efficiency (see figures 24-25, paragraphs [0110]-[0117]). Since both Siegl et al. and Huettinger et al. teach continuous cleaning systems it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention that the first fan, in the modified system of Siegl et al., may be provided so as to blow ambient air into the rinsing air line so as to allow for improved cleaning efficiency, as shown to be known and conventional by Huettinger et al. Hence, it is readily apparent that, in the modified system by Siegl et al., the exhaust air line of the at least one cooling chamber 15 would open into the rinsing air line in such a manner that the exhaust air heated by the plastic recycling material in the at least one cooling chamber 15 would be mixed with the ambient air blown into the rinsing air line by the first fan.
Regarding claim 4, Siegl et al. and Huettinger et al. together teach the limitations of claim 3. Siegl et al. also teaches in figure 1 and page 3 of the translation that a first dosing device 51 is effective between the at least one rinsing container 13 and the at least one cooling container 15 and capable of continuously feeding the plastic recycling material 23 rinsed in the at least one rinsing container 13 into the at least one cooling container 15.
Regarding claim 6, Siegl et al. and Huettinger et al. together teach the limitations of claim 3. Siegl et al. also teaches in figure 1 and page 4 of the translation a second dosing device 53 is provided, which is connected downstream of the at least one cooling container 15 and is capable of continuously discharging (see continuously open position of valve 53) the plastic recycling material 23 cooled in the at least one cooling container 15.
Regarding claim 8, Siegl et al. and Huettinger et al. together teach the limitations of claim 1. Siegl et al. also teaches that the rinsing air feed comprises a rinsing air line (see e.g. piping between 47 and 13 as shown in figure 1) which is operatively coupled to a heating apparatus 45 capable of tempering rinsing air (see figure 1 and page 3 of the translation).
Regarding claim 15, Siegl et al. and Huettinger et al. together teach the limitations of claim 1. Siegl et al. does not explicitly teach a plurality of rinsing chambers and/or cooling chambers in parallel. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention that the number of rinsing chambers and cooling chambers, may be increased and attached in parallel so as to increase the odor removing and pellet processing capacity of the system. Furthermore, it has been determined that the duplication of parts constitutes an obvious design choice to one of ordinary skill in the art absent persuasive evidence that a new and unexpected result is produced. In re Harza, 274 F.2d 669, 124 USPQ 378 (CCPA 1960).
Claims 5 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Siegl et al. (WO2021198323A1) and Huettinger et al. (US20170361358) as applied to claims 4 and 6, and further in view of Friedlaender et al. (US20130143974).
Regarding claims 5 and 7, Siegl et al. and Huettinger et al. together teach the limitations of claims 4 and 6. Siegl et al. does not teach that the first and second dosing devices are controlled based on a fill level of the at least one rinsing/cooling container and/or based on an amount of plastic recycling material present in the at least one rinsing/cooling container. Friedlaender et al. teaches a system for processing plastic materials (see abstract) and that a dosing device 4 may be controlled based on a fill level of an upstream processing container 3 so as to allow for the maintenance of optimal fill levels for continuous operation (see paragraph [0047], figure 1). Since both Siegl et al. and Friedlaender et al. teach plastic processing systems it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention that first and second dosing devices in the system by Siegl et al. may be controlled based on a fill level of the at least one rinsing/cooling container and/or based on an amount of plastic recycling material present in the at least one rinsing/cooling container so as to maintain optimal fill levels for continuous operation, as shown to be known and conventional by Friedlaender et al.
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Siegl et al. (WO2021198323A1) and Huettinger et al. (US20170361358) as applied to claim 1, and further in view of Parker et al. (US20220297352).
Regarding claim 14, Siegl et al. and Huettinger et al. together teach the limitations of claim 1. Siegl et al. does not teach that the rinsing air feed is coupled to a steam feed for feeding steam or a water injection for injecting water into the rinsing air. Parker et al. teaches a system for recovering and processing plastics (see abstract) and that steam may be fed into a vessel or line in order to control the temperature of a stream or vessel by providing a portion of the required energy to achieve the desired temperature (see paragraph [0147]). Since both Siegl et al. and Parker et al. teach systems for recovering plastics it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention that steam may be fed into the rinsing air feed so as to provide a portion of the required energy needed to achieve the desired temperature control of the rinsing air and rinsing container, as shown to be known and conventional by Parker et al.
Conclusion
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/TINSAE B AYALEW/EXAMINER, Art Unit 1711
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