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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 August 31st, 2025 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed August 31st, 2025 has been entered. Claims 1, 3, 9 and 11 have been amended. Claim 19 has been added. Claims 1-19 remain pending. The amendments to the claims overcome the objections and 112(b) rejections previously set forth in the Final Office Action mailed July 2nd, 2025.
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 1-19 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.
Claims 1, 9 and 19 recite “wherein the interior space of said housing remains sealed while said filter assembly including said magnetic rods is removed from said housing”, wherein it is unclear how the interior space of the housing remains sealed since the throughholes in the side of the housing from which the magnetic rods were removed through provide access to the environment.
Claim 19 recites the limitation "said cover plate". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claims 2-8 and 10-18 are rejected as they are dependent upon a previously rejected claim.
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.
Claims 1-4, 7, 9-12, 15 and 17-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kwasniewicz (US 20190046993) in view of Allore et al. (US 8132674).
Regarding claim 1, Kwasniewicz (US 20190046993) teaches a metal removal unit for a bulk material conveying system (Paragraph 0002 lines 1-6), the metal removal unit comprising:
a housing (Fig. 2 #32, 54) including a plurality of walls that are fixedly attached together (Fig. 2 walls of #32, 54 fixedly attached together) and define an interior space (Fig. 6 see interior space of #32, 54);
a magnetic filter assembly (Fig. 2 #44 “drawer”) movably attached to said housing (Fig. 2 #44 movably attached to #32, 54), said magnetic filter assembly including a cover plate (Fig. 6 #98) and a plurality of magnetic rods (Fig. 2 #46 “magnets”, Paragraph 0044 lines 1-4) that extend at least partially into said interior space (Fig. 1 #46 extend at least partially into interior space of #32, 54) and magnetically attract metal particles in bulk material flowing through the interior space of the housing (Paragraph 0041 lines 12-25, Paragraph 0045 lines 1-9), each of said plurality of magnetic rods including first ends attached to said cover plate (Fig. 6 see first end of #46 attached to #98); and
a wiper plate (Fig. 3A #50b “stripper plate”) fixedly attached to one of said walls of said housing (Fig. 2 #50b “stripper plate” fixedly attached to a walls of #54 “stripper plate frame”, Paragraph 0046 lines 1-3), said wiper plate (Fig. 3A #50b “stripper plate”) having a plurality of throughholes (Fig. 3A #52 “aperture”) corresponding to said plurality of magnetic rods (Fig. 2 #46 “magnets”, Paragraph 0043 lines 12-16, Paragraph 0044 lines 1-8) of said magnetic filter assembly (Fig. 2 #44 “drawer”), wherein said wiper plate removes metal attracted to said magnetic rods (Fig. 2 #46 “magnets”) as said magnetic rods move outwardly from said housing when said magnetic filter assembly is removed from said housing (Paragraph 0043 lines 18-23) so that the metal removed from said magnetic rods remains inside said housing (Fig. 2 metal removed from #46 remains inside #140).
Kwasniewicz (US 20190046993) lacks teaching each of said plurality of magnetic rods including opposing second ends that are unsupported in the interior space, and wherein the interior space of said housing remains sealed while said filter assembly including said magnetic rods is removed from said housing.
Allore et al. (US 8132674) teaches a metal removal unit for a bulk material conveying system (Col. 1 lines 12-18), the metal removal unit comprising:
a magnetic filter assembly (Fig. 6 #140, 142) movably attached to said housing (Fig. 6 #140, 142 movably attached to #102, 104), said magnetic filter assembly including a cover plate (Fig. 6 #144) and a plurality of magnetic rods (Fig. 6 #152), each of said plurality of magnetic rods including first ends attached to said cover plate (Fig. 6 first end of #152 attached to #144) and opposing second ends that are unsupported in the interior space (Fig. 6 see second end of #152 unsupported in interior space of #102), and wherein the interior space of said housing remains sealed while said filter assembly including said magnetic rods is removed from said housing (Col. 3 lines 15-21).
Allore et al. (US 8132674) explains that in the prior art, removal of the drawer assembly from the housing leaves an opening through which any flow of particulate material could result in spillage of material or the ejection of dust associated with the material into the industrial environment, and therefore it is preferable to configure a cleaning mechanism which ensures that the magnetic separation operation continues while the magnet assemblies are being cleaned (Col. 2 lines 47-54), and further explains that the second housing has a substantially enclosed interior and an outlet for removing contaminants from the second housing (Col. 3 lines 15-21).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kwasniewicz (US 20190046993) to include each of said plurality of magnetic rods including opposing second ends that are unsupported in the interior space, and wherein the interior space of said housing remains sealed while said filter assembly including said magnetic rods is removed from said housing as taught by Allore et al. (US 8132674) in order to prevent spillage of material or ejection of dust into the industrial environment.
Regarding claim 2, Kwasniewicz (US 20190046993) teaches the metal removal unit of claim 1, wherein the magnetic rods (Fig. 5 #46 “magnets”) are arranged in a v-shaped pattern (Fig. 5 see V-shaped pattern of #46, Paragraph 0045 lines 1-2).
Regarding claim 3, Kwasniewicz (US 20190046993) teaches the metal removal unit of claim 1, wherein the magnetic filter assembly includes a base plate (Fig. 6 front surface of #44) attached to said cover plate (Fig. 6 #98) having a handle (Fig. 2 see handle attached to #98), the base plate (Fig. 6 front surface of #44) defining a plurality of throughholes (Fig. 6 see throughholes in front surface of #44) configured to receive and secure the plurality of magnetic rods (Fig. 6 see throughholes in front surface of #44 configured to receive and secure #46 “magnets”).
Regarding claim 4, Kwasniewicz (US 20190046993) teaches the metal removal unit of claim 3, further comprising a seal member (Fig. 3A #66) defining throughholes (Fig. 3A #68) that align with the throughholes of the base plate (Fig. 2 throughholes in #66 align with throughholes of #44), wherein said seal member (Fig. 2 #66) forms a seal between the magnetic filter assembly and the housing (Fig. 2 #66 forms seal between interior of #32, 54 and #44 “drawer”).
Regarding claim 7, Kwasniewicz (US 20190046993) teaches the metal removal unit of claim 1, further comprising an inlet pipe (Fig. 5 #40) attached to a first end of said housing (Fig. 5 #40 attached at first end of #32), and an outlet pipe (Fig. 5 #42) attached to an opposing, second end of said housing (Fig. 5 #42 attached at second end of #32), said inlet pipe and said outlet pipe each defining throughholes that are in fluid communication with said interior space of said housing (Fig. 5 #40, 42 defining throughholes in fluid communication with interior space of #32, 54).
Regarding claim 9, Kwasniewicz (US 20190046993) teaches a pneumatic conveying system (Paragraph 0002 lines 1-6, Paragraph 0084 lines 13-18) comprising:
a duct (Paragraph 0041 lines 9-13) for conveying bulk materials under positive pressure or negative pressure (Paragraph 0084 lines 13-18);
a metal removal unit (Fig. 2 #30) attached to said duct (Paragraph 0041 lines 9-13), wherein said metal removal unit includes:
a housing (Fig. 2 #32, 54) including a plurality of walls fixedly attached together (Fig. 2 see walls of #32, 54 fixedly attached together), said plurality of walls defining an interior space (Fig. 2 interior space of #32, 54);
a magnetic filter assembly (Fig. 2 #44 “drawer”) movably attached to said housing (Fig. 2 #44 movably attached to #32, 54), said magnetic filter assembly including a cover plate (Fig. 6 #98) and a plurality of magnetic rods (Fig. 2 #46 “magnets”, Paragraph 0044 lines 1-4) that extend at least partially into said interior space (Fig. 1 #46 extend at least partially into interior space of #32, 54) and magnetically attract metal particles in bulk material flowing through the duct (Paragraph 0041 lines 12-25, Paragraph 0045 lines 1-9), each of said plurality of magnetic rods including first ends attached to said cover plate (Fig. 6 see first end of #46 attached to #98); and
a wiper plate (Fig. 3A #50b “stripper plate”) fixedly attached to one of said walls of said housing (Fig. 2 #50b “stripper plate” fixedly attached to a wall of #54 “stripper plate frame”, Paragraph 0046 lines 1-3), said wiper plate (Fig. 3A #50b “stripper plate”) having a plurality of throughholes (Fig. 3A #52 “aperture”) corresponding to said plurality of magnetic rods (Fig. 2 #46 “magnets”, Paragraph 0043 lines 12-16, Paragraph 0044 lines 1-8) of said magnetic filter assembly (Fig. 2 #44 “drawer”), wherein said wiper plate removes metal attracted to said magnetic rods (Fig. 2 #46 “magnets”) as said magnetic rods move outwardly from said housing when said magnetic filter assembly is removed from said housing so that the metal removed from said magnetic rods remains inside said housing (Paragraph 0043 lines 18-23, Fig. 2 metal removed from #46 remains inside #140).
Kwasniewicz (US 20190046993) lacks teaching each of said plurality of magnetic rods including opposing second ends that are unsupported in the interior space, and wherein the interior space of said housing remains sealed while said filter assembly including said magnetic rods is removed from said housing.
Allore et al. (US 8132674) teaches a pneumatic conveying system (Col. 1 lines 12-18) comprising:
a magnetic filter assembly (Fig. 6 #140, 142) movably attached to said housing (Fig. 6 #140, 142 movably attached to #102, 104), said magnetic filter assembly including a cover plate (Fig. 6 #144) and a plurality of magnetic rods (Fig. 6 #152), each of said plurality of magnetic rods including first ends attached to said cover plate (Fig. 6 first end of #152 attached to #144) and opposing second ends that are unsupported in the interior space (Fig. 6 see second end of #152 unsupported in interior space of #102), and wherein the interior space of said housing remains sealed while said filter assembly including said magnetic rods is removed from said housing (Col. 3 lines 15-21).
Allore et al. (US 8132674) explains that in the prior art, removal of the drawer assembly from the housing leaves an opening through which any flow of particulate material could result in spillage of material or the ejection of dust associated with the material into the industrial environment, and therefore it is preferable to configure a cleaning mechanism which ensures that the magnetic separation operation continues while the magnet assemblies are being cleaned (Col. 2 lines 47-54), and further explains that the second housing has a substantially enclosed interior and an outlet for removing contaminants from the second housing (Col. 3 lines 15-21).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kwasniewicz (US 20190046993) to include each of said plurality of magnetic rods including opposing second ends that are unsupported in the interior space, and wherein the interior space of said housing remains sealed while said filter assembly including said magnetic rods is removed from said housing as taught by Allore et al. (US 8132674) in order to prevent spillage of material or ejection of dust into the industrial environment.
Regarding claim 10, Kwasniewicz (US 20190046993) teaches the pneumatic conveying system of claim 9, wherein the magnetic rods (Fig. 5 #46 “magnets”) are arranged in a v-shaped pattern (Fig. 5 see V-shaped pattern of #46, Paragraph 0045 lines 1-2).
Regarding claim 11, Kwasniewicz (US 20190046993) teaches the pneumatic conveying system of claim 9, wherein the magnetic filter assembly includes a base plate (Fig. 6 front surface of #44) attached to said cover plate (Fig. 6 #98) having a handle (Fig. 2 see handle attached to #98), the base plate (Fig. 6 front surface of #44) defining a plurality of throughholes (Fig. 6 see throughholes in front surface of #44) configured to receive and secure the plurality of magnetic rods (Fig. 6 see throughholes in front surface of #44 configured to receive and secure #46 “magnets”).
Regarding claim 12, Kwasniewicz (US 20190046993) teaches the pneumatic conveying system of claim 11, further comprising a seal member (Fig. 3A #66) defining throughholes (Fig. 3A #68) that align with the throughholes of the base plate (Fig. 2 throughholes in #66 align with throughholes of #44), wherein said seal member (Fig. 2 #66) forms a seal between the magnetic filter assembly and the housing (Fig. 2 #66 forms seal between interior of #32, 54 and #44 “drawer”).
Regarding claim 15, Kwasniewicz (US 20190046993) teaches the pneumatic conveying system of claim 9, further comprising an inlet pipe (Fig. 5 #40) attached to a first end of said housing (Fig. 4 #40 on first end of #32), and an outlet pipe (Fig. 5 #42) attached to an opposing, second end of said housing (Fig. 5 #42 at opposing, second end of #32), said inlet pipe and said outlet pipe each defining throughholes (Fig. 5 see throughholes of #40, 42) that are in fluid communication with said interior space of said housing (Fig. 5 #40, 42 in fluid communication with interior space of #32, 54).
Regarding claim 17, Kwasniewicz (US 20190046993) teaches the metal removal unit of claim 1, wherein the entirety of said magnetic filter assembly (Fig. 2 #44 “drawer”) is removable from said housing (Paragraph 0100 lines 1-13, Paragraph 0101 lines 10-12).
Regarding claim 18, Kwasniewicz (US 20190046993) teaches the pneumatic conveying system of claim 9, wherein the entirety of said magnetic filter assembly (Fig. 2 #44 “drawer”) is removable from said housing (Paragraph 0100 lines 1-13, Paragraph 0101 lines 10-12).
Regarding claim 19, Kwasniewicz (US 20190046993) teaches a metal removal unit for a bulk material conveying system (Paragraph 0002 lines 1-6, Paragraph 0084 lines 13-18), the metal removal unit comprising:
a housing (Fig. 2 #32, 54) including a plurality of walls that are fixedly attached together (Fig. 2 walls of #32, 54 fixedly attached together) and define an interior space (Fig. 6 see interior space of #32, 54);
a magnetic filter assembly (Fig. 2 #44 “drawer”) movably attached to said housing (Fig. 2 #44 movably attached to #32, 54), said magnetic filter assembly including a plate (Fig. 6 front surface of #44), a seal member (Fig. 3A #66) attached to the plate (Fig. 2 see #66 attached to front surface of #44 through #46) and a plurality of magnetic rods (Fig. 2 #46 “magnets”, Paragraph 0044 lines 1-4) that extend laterally from one of said walls of said housing and at least partially into said interior space (Figs. 1, 6 #46 extend laterally from wall of #54 at least partially into interior space of #32, 54) and magnetically attract metal particles in bulk material flowing through the interior space of the housing (Paragraph 0041 lines 12-25, Paragraph 0045 lines 1-9), said plate and said seal member each defining a plurality of through-holes (Fig. 6 see throughholes in front surface of #44, and throughholes #68), each of said plurality of magnetic rods including first ends attached to said cover plate (Fig. 6 see first end of #46 attached to #98) and opposing second ends that extend through the through-holes in the plate and the seal member (Fig. 6 see second end of #46 extending through through-holes in front surface of #44 and through-holes #68), wherein the second ends of the magnetic rods are unsupported in the interior space; and
a wiper plate (Fig. 3A #50b “stripper plate”) fixedly attached to one of said walls of said housing (Fig. 2 #50b “stripper plate” fixedly attached to a walls of #54 “stripper plate frame”, Paragraph 0046 lines 1-3), said wiper plate (Fig. 3A #50b “stripper plate”) having a plurality of throughholes (Fig. 3A #52 “aperture”) corresponding to said plurality of magnetic rods (Fig. 2 #46 “magnets”, Paragraph 0043 lines 12-16, Paragraph 0044 lines 1-8) of said magnetic filter assembly (Fig. 2 #44 “drawer”), wherein said wiper plate removes metal attracted to said magnetic rods (Fig. 2 #46 “magnets”) as said magnetic rods move outwardly from said housing when said magnetic filter assembly is removed from said housing (Paragraph 0043 lines 18-23) so that the metal removed from said magnetic rods remains inside said housing (Fig. 2 metal removed from #46 remains inside #140).
Kwasniewicz (US 20190046993) lacks teaching wherein the second ends of the magnetic rods are unsupported in the interior space, and wherein the interior space of said housing remains sealed while said filter assembly including said magnetic rods is removed from said housing.
Allore et al. (US 8132674) teaches a metal removal unit for a bulk material conveying system (Col. 1 lines 12-18), wherein the second ends of the magnetic rods are unsupported in the interior space (Fig. 6 see second end of #152 unsupported in interior space of #102), and wherein the interior space of said housing remains sealed while said filter assembly including said magnetic rods is removed from said housing (Col. 3 lines 15-21).
Allore et al. (US 8132674) explains that in the prior art, removal of the drawer assembly from the housing leaves an opening through which any flow of particulate material could result in spillage of material or the ejection of dust associated with the material into the industrial environment, and therefore it is preferable to configure a cleaning mechanism which ensures that the magnetic separation operation continues while the magnet assemblies are being cleaned (Col. 2 lines 47-54), and further explains that the second housing has a substantially enclosed interior and an outlet for removing contaminants from the second housing (Col. 3 lines 15-21).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kwasniewicz (US 20190046993) to include wherein the second ends of the magnetic rods are unsupported in the interior space, and wherein the interior space of said housing remains sealed while said filter assembly including said magnetic rods is removed from said housing as taught by Allore et al. (US 8132674) in order to prevent spillage of material or ejection of dust into the industrial environment.
Claims 8 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kwasniewicz (US 20190046993) in view of Allore et al. (US 8132674) and further in view of Latimer (US 5043063).
Regarding claim 8, Kwasniewicz (US 20190046993) lacks teaching the metal removal unit of claim 1, wherein each of said magnetic rods includes a housing having an open end and defining an interior space, a plurality of magnets inserted into said interior space and a plurality of spacers, wherein said magnets and said spacers are alternately positioned in said interior space.
Latimer (US 5043063) teaches the metal removal unit of claim 1, wherein each of said magnetic rods (Fig. 2 #22) includes a housing (Fig. 2 #22 “non-magnetic tube”) having an open end (Fig. 4 open upper end of #22) and defining an interior space (Fig. 4 interior space of #22), a plurality of magnets (Fig. 3 #42 “permanent magnets”) inserted into said interior space (Fig. 2 see #42 in interior space of #22) and a plurality of spacers (Fig. 3 #43 “pole pieces”), wherein said magnets and said spacers are alternately positioned in said interior space (Fig. 2 #42 and #43 alternately positioned in interior space of #22).
Latimer (US 5043063) explains that this arrangement results in a plurality of spaced fields that extend from iron pole pieces, and magnetic fields extend through non-magnetic tubes into the space between non-magnetic tubes as this field efficiently attracts magnetic particles of iron to non-magnetic tubes (Col. 2 lines 35-47).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kwasniewicz (US 20190046993) to include wherein each of said magnetic rods includes a housing having an open end and defining an interior space, a plurality of magnets inserted into said interior space and a plurality of spacers, wherein said magnets and said spacers are alternately positioned in said interior space as taught by Latimer (US 5043063) in order to provide magnetic fields which efficiently attract magnetic particles.
Regarding claim 16, Kwasniewicz (US 20190046993) lacks teaching the pneumatic conveying system of claim 9, wherein each of said magnetic rods includes a housing having an open end and defining an interior space, a plurality of magnets inserted into said interior space and a plurality of spacers, wherein said magnets and said spacers are alternately positioned in said interior space.
Latimer (US 5043063) teaches the pneumatic conveying system of claim 9, wherein each of said magnetic rods (Fig. 2 #22) includes a housing (Fig. 2 #22 “non-magnetic tube”) having an open end (Fig. 4 open upper end of #22) and defining an interior space (Fig. 4 interior space of #22), a plurality of magnets (Fig. 3 #42 “permanent magnets”) inserted into said interior space (Fig. 2 see #42 in interior space of #22) and a plurality of spacers (Fig. 3 #43 “pole pieces”), wherein said magnets and said spacers are alternately positioned in said interior space (Fig. 2 #42 and #43 alternately positioned in interior space of #22). Latimer (US 5043063) explains that this arrangement results in a plurality of spaced fields that extend from iron pole pieces, and magnetic fields extend through non-magnetic tubes into the space between non-magnetic tubes as this field efficiently attracts magnetic particles of iron to non-magnetic tubes (Col. 2 lines 35-47).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kwasniewicz (US 20190046993) to include wherein each of said magnetic rods includes a housing having an open end and defining an interior space, a plurality of magnets inserted into said interior space and a plurality of spacers, wherein said magnets and said spacers are alternately positioned in said interior space as taught by Latimer (US 5043063) in order to provide magnetic fields which efficiently attract magnetic particles.
Claims 5 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kwasniewicz (US 20190046993) in view of Allore et al. (US 8132674) and further in view of Van Mol (US 4340470).
Regarding claim 5, Kwasniewicz (US 20190046993) lacks teaching the metal removal unit of claim 1, wherein said housing includes a transparent member that enables a user to visually see into the interior space of said housing.
Van Mol (US 4340470) teaches a material removal unit (Fig. 1 #16) for a conveying system (Col. 1 lines 22-30), wherein said housing (Fig. 1 #10) includes a transparent member that enables a user to visually see into the interior space of said housing (Col. 1 lines 32-35). Van Mol (US 4340470) explains that the housing is made of a transparent material such as synthetic plastic or glass so that the condition of the filter element is readily viewed and the filter element may be removed for cleaning when necessary (Col. 1 lines 32-42).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kwasniewicz (US 20190046993) to include wherein said housing includes a transparent member that enables a user to visually see into the interior space of said housing as taught by Van Mol (US 4340470) in order to allow a user to visually monitor the magnetic filter assembly and therefore determine the appropriate time to clean the magnetic filter assembly.
Regarding claim 13, Kwasniewicz (US 20190046993) lacks teaching the pneumatic conveying system of claim 9, wherein said housing includes a transparent member that enables a user to visually see into the interior space of said housing.
Van Mol (US 4340470) teaches a conveying system (Col. 1 lines 22-30), wherein said housing (Fig. 1 #10) includes a transparent member that enables a user to visually see into the interior space of said housing (Col. 1 lines 32-35). Van Mol (US 4340470) explains that the housing is made of a transparent material such as synthetic plastic or glass so that the condition of the filter element is readily viewed and the filter element may be removed for cleaning when necessary (Col. 1 lines 32-42).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kwasniewicz (US 20190046993) to include wherein said housing includes a transparent member that enables a user to visually see into the interior space of said housing as taught by Van Mol (US 4340470) in order to allow a user to visually monitor the magnetic filter assembly and therefore determine the appropriate time to clean the magnetic filter assembly.
Claims 6 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kwasniewicz (US 20190046993) in view of Allore et al. (US 8132674) and further in view of Schaaf et al. (US 6730217).
Regarding claim 6, Kwasniewicz (US 20190046993) lacks teaching the metal removal unit of claim 1, further comprising at least one latch mounted on the housing, wherein said at least one latch includes a hook member and a handle, and wherein said hook member engages and applied tension to said magnetic filter assembly when said handle is moved to a closed position, and disengages said magnetic filter assembly when said handle is moved to an open position.
Schaaf et al. (US 6730217) teaches a metal removal unit for a conveying system (Col. 1 lines 7-14, 62-66), further comprising at least one latch (Col. 3 lines 4-14) mounted on the housing (Fig. 1 #22 mounted on #15 “rim” at upper end of housing), wherein said at least one latch includes a hook member (Fig. 1 #23) and a handle (Fig. 1 #22), and wherein said hook member engages and applied tension to said magnetic filter assembly (Fig. 1 #23 engages #24 of ‘B’) when said handle is moved to a closed position (Fig. 1 see #22 in closed position), and disengages said magnetic filter assembly when said handle is moved to an open position (Col. 3 lines 10-14, Fig. 1 #22 pivots to disengage #23). Schaaf et al. (US 6730217) explains that this construction has minimal weight characteristics wherein the cover may be removed prior to removal of the magnetic assembly, for ease in separating the magnetic particles from the assembly after removal from the tank (Col. 1 lines 55-61), wherein the clamps may be manually operated to forcibly fix a ring upon a projecting member of the cover member (Col. 3 lines 10-14).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kwasniewicz (US 20190046993) to include at least one latch mounted on the housing, wherein said at least one latch includes a hook member and a handle, and wherein said hook member engages and applied tension to said magnetic filter assembly when said handle is moved to a closed position, and disengages said magnetic filter assembly when said handle is moved to an open position as taught by Schaaf et al. (US 6730217) in order to manually operate a latch to forcibly fix the magnetic filter assembly within the housing or manually operate the latch to remove the cover and remove the magnetic filter assembly from the housing.
Regarding claim 14, Kwasniewicz (US 20190046993) lacks teaching the pneumatic conveying system of claim 9, further comprising at least one latch mounted on the housing, wherein said at least one latch includes a hook member and a handle, and wherein said hook member engages and applied tension to said magnetic filter assembly when said handle is moved to a closed position, and disengages said magnetic filter assembly when said handle is moved to an open position.
Schaaf et al. (US 6730217) teaches a conveying system (Col. 1 lines 7-14, 62-66), further comprising at least one latch (Col. 3 lines 4-14) mounted on the housing (Fig. 1 #22 mounted on #15 “rim” at upper end of housing), wherein said at least one latch includes a hook member (Fig. 1 #23) and a handle (Fig. 1 #22), and wherein said hook member engages and applied tension to said magnetic filter assembly (Fig. 1 #23 engages #24 of ‘B’) when said handle is moved to a closed position (Fig. 1 see #22 in closed position), and disengages said magnetic filter assembly when said handle is moved to an open position (Col. 3 lines 10-14, Fig. 1 #22 pivots to disengage #23).
Schaaf et al. (US 6730217) explains that this construction has minimal weight characteristics wherein the cover may be removed prior to removal of the magnetic assembly, for ease in separating the magnetic particles from the assembly after removal from the tank (Col. 1 lines 55-61), wherein the clamps may be manually operated to forcibly fix a ring upon a projecting member of the cover member (Col. 3 lines 10-14).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kwasniewicz (US 20190046993) to include at least one latch mounted on the housing, wherein said at least one latch includes a hook member and a handle, and wherein said hook member engages and applied tension to said magnetic filter assembly when said handle is moved to a closed position, and disengages said magnetic filter assembly when said handle is moved to an open position as taught by Schaaf et al. (US 6730217) in order to manually operate a latch to forcibly fix the magnetic filter assembly within the housing or manually operate the latch to remove the cover and remove the magnetic filter assembly from the housing.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed August 31st, 2025, with respect to the rejection(s) of amended claim(s) 1 and 9 under 35 U.S.C. 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive.
Applicant's arguments filed August 31st, 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding the Applicant’s argument that Allore does not disclose or suggest magnetic rods that have first ends attached to the housing and opposing second ends that are free ends or unsupported ends when the magnetic rods are in the retracted position in the interior space of the housing, the Examiner would like to clarify that
In response to applicant's argument that the references fail to show certain features of the invention, it is noted that the features upon which applicant relies (i.e., magnetic rods that have first ends attached to the housing and opposing second ends that are free ends or unsupported ends when the magnetic rods are in the retracted position in the interior space of the housing) are not recited in the rejected claim(s). Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993). The claims recite “each of said plurality of magnetic rods including first ends attached to said cover plate and opposing second ends that are unsupported in the interior space”, wherein these limitations are taught by Allore (see claims 1, 9 and 19 above).
Additionally, the Examiner would like to clarify that Allore shows the interior space of the housing #102 being sealed when the drawers are moved to the extended position. The instant application provides access to the interior space of the housing via the throughholes from which the magnetic rods were removed when the interior space of the housing is “sealed”, therefore Allore is understood to provide the same “sealing” configuration as this system prevents spillage of material or the ejection of dust into the industrial environment (Col. 2 lines 47-54, Col. 3 lines 15-21).
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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/MOLLY K DEVINE/ Examiner, Art Unit 3653