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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 06/16/2026 has been entered.
Claim Objections
Claim 6 is objected to because of the following informalities: in lines 10 and 11, the limitation “each point corresponding to each point corresponding to at least one pipeline section” should read “each point corresponding to at least one pipeline section”. Appropriate correction is required.
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 6-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bass (US 2015/0276113) in view of Ahlen (WO 90/05266).
Regarding claim 6, Bass teaches a Direct Electrical Heating system (Fig. 1, 3A, 14, 19) of a Pipe-In-Pipe pipeline for transporting fluids (p.0108), the pipeline comprising a steel inner shell (101) intended to transport fluids and a steel outer shell (103) positioned around the inner shell while being coaxial therewith (as shown in Fig. 1, 3A, 14, 19) to delimit an annular space (105) therewith, the system comprising: a plurality of mechanical links (205) between the inner shell and the outer shell which are positioned at different intervals of the pipeline (as shown in Fig. 1, 3A, 14, 19; para. 0006; 0009; 0024; 0026); an electrical and thermal insulation between the inner shell and the outer shell which is positioned over the entire length of the pipeline (p.0055 or 201 and 211); and an alternating electric current generator (109) configured to apply an alternating electric current at several points along the pipeline (at each heated segment, thru annulus 105 and carbon steel bulkhead 107; para. 0056; 0060; Fig. 1 and 3A), each point corresponding to at least one pipe section (para. 0056); and each pipeline section comprising an inner shell section (portion of inner shell 101 between bulkheads 107) and an outer shell section (portion of inner shell 103 between bulkheads 107), and wherein the electric current generator is configured to apply the alternating electric current between an outer surface of the inner shell and an inner surface of the outer shell over the entire length of the pipeline so as to heat the inner shell of the pipeline by Joule effect (p.0025; p.0056); wherein the inner shell and the outer shell are connected to each other by intermediate links (209) configured to hold the inner shell and the outer shell together in a coaxial position (as shown in Fig. 9), wherein each intermediate link is electrically insulated and arranged to prevent electric current passes therethrough (para. 0005; 0090; Fig. 3A, 9 and 14); and wherein each intermediate link is an elastomeric or polymeric ring (para. 0090; as shown in Fig. 9; Fox Industries FX-70-6 is a polymeric material, specifically a three-component, 100% solids marine epoxy grout).
Bass fails to disclose further comprising at least one layer made of resistive and ferromagnetic material positioned on the outer surface of the inner shell over the entire length of the pipeline so as to increase the ratio of electric power transmitted to the inner shell.
Ahlen teaches a transport pipeline (1) comprising at least one layer made of resistive and ferromagnetic material positioned on the outer surface of the pipeline over the entire length of the pipeline so as to increase the ratio of electrical power transmitted to the pipeline (page 3, lines 33-35).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have modified the inner pipe of Bass, with Ahlen, by providing a composite pipe with at least one layer of ferromagnetic material as an alternative to the carbon steel pipe of Bass to assure proper electrical conduction. POSITA would have known that providing a composite pipe with at least one layer of ferromagnetic material as an alternative to the carbon steel pipe would have a reasonable expectation of success and predictable results such as proper electrical conduction.
Regarding claim 7, Bass and Ahlen combined teach the system as set forth above, further comprising a jacket (Bass; 207) made of conductive and non-magnetic material (Bass; zinc; p.0060; p.0064-0065; p.0068) positioned on the inner surface of the outer shell over the entire length of the pipeline (Bass; as shown in Fig. 3A, 14).
Regarding claim 8, Bass and Ahlen combined teach the system as set forth above, wherein the jacket made of conductive and non-magnetic material is made of aluminum, copper, bronze, brass or zinc (Bass; zinc; p.0060; p.0064-0065; p.0068).
Regarding claim 9, Bass and Ahlen combined teach the system as set forth above, wherein the jacket made of conductive and non-magnetic material has a thickness of 1 mm (Bass; p.0068; table 1).
Bass and Ahlen combined fail to disclose wherein the jacket made of conductive and non-magnetic material has a thickness between 1 to 6 mm.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to provide the claimed jacket thickness, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art.
Regarding claim 10, Bass and Ahlen combined teach the system as set forth above, wherein the layer made of resistive and ferromagnetic material is made of electrical steel or amorphous metal (Ahlen; page 3, lines 33-35).
Regarding claim 11, Bass and Ahlen combined teach all the limitations of the claimed invention as set forth above, except for, wherein the layer made of resistive and ferromagnetic material has a thickness comprised between 1 and 3 mm.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to provide the claimed layer thickness, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art.
Regarding claim 12, Bass and Ahlen combined teach the system as set forth above, wherein the mechanical links between the inner shell and the outer shell of the pipeline are annular shoulders evenly spaced over the entire length of the pipeline (Bass; as shown in Fig. 1, 3A, 14, 19; para. 0006; 0009; 0024; 0026).
Regarding claim 13, Bass and Ahlen combined teach the system as set forth above, wherein the inner shell and the outer shell of the pipeline each comprise a plurality of shell sections connected end-to-end to each other by weld beads (Bass; p.0059; p.0091), the jacket made of conductive and non-magnetic material and the layer made of resistive and ferromagnetic material having discontinuities at the weld beads (Bass when viewed in combination with Ahlen; p.0059; p.0091; as shown in Fig. 3A, 14).
Regarding claim 14, Bass and Ahlen combined teach the system as set forth above, wherein the electrical continuity of the jacket made of conductive and non-magnetic material and of the layer made of resistive and ferromagnetic material is achieved directly through the inner and outer shells (Bass when viewed in combination with Ahlen; as shown in Fig. 1, 3A, 14; Bass teaches a power source 109 connected to the inner 101 and outer 103 pipes, and layer 207 directly in contact with the inner surface of outer pipe 103, and Ahlen teaches a composite pipe with a layer of ferromagnetic material, therefore the combination of Bass and Ahlen will provide electrical continuity of the jacket made of conductive and non-magnetic material and of the layer made of resistive and ferromagnetic material achieved directly through the inner and outer shells).
Regarding claim 15, Bass and Ahlen combined teach the system as set forth above, wherein the electrical continuity of the jacket made of conductive and non-magnetic material and of the layer made of resistive and ferromagnetic material is achieved indirectly through a conductive annular ring or a conductive sleeve (Bass; 1400) which are positioned at the weld beads (Bass; as shown in Fig. 14; para. 0091).
Regarding claim 16, Bass and Ahlen combined teach the system as set forth above, wherein the annular space is sealingly closed by a metal bulkhead (Bass; 107) configured to provide a mechanical and electrical connection between the inner shell and the outer shell (Bass; para. 0055-0056; 0069; Fig. 3A-3B).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 18 and 19 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: allowable subject matter is indicated for claims 18 and 19 because the prior art of record does not show or fairly suggest a direct electrical heating system of a pipe-in-pipe pipeline for transporting fluids, wherein each pipeline section is electrically insulated from an adjacent pipeline section with a bulkhead configured to sealingly close the annular space and wherein an adjacent section of the bulkhead ensures a mechanical and electrical connection between the inner shell and the outer shell, and wherein at least one pipeline section is supplied with electric current independently and in a middle of the at least one pipeline section by the alternating electric current generator as recited in claim 18.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 02/17/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Regarding claim 6, Applicant argues that “In rejecting claim 17, the Action relies on the shear stop elements (209) of Bass to disclose the claimed intermediate links. However, amended claim 6 further specifies that each intermediate link is an elastomeric or polymeric ring. While the shear stop element (209) of Bass is described as electrically insulating, there is insufficient evidence in Bass to suggest that the shear stop element (209) of Bass forms an elastomeric or polymeric ring. Furthermore, there is insufficient evidence in Bass to show or suggest how the shear stop element (209) in Bass "holds the inner shell and the outer shell together in a coaxial position," as required by amended claim 6.” on remarks page 9, lines 20-22 and page 10, lines 1-6. In response to Applicant’s arguments, Bass teaches wherein the inner shell (101) and the outer shell (103) are connected to each other by intermediate links (209) configured to hold the inner shell and the outer shell together in a coaxial position (as shown in Fig. 9), wherein each intermediate link is electrically insulated and arranged to prevent electric current passes therethrough (para. 0005; 0090; Fig. 3A, 9 and 14); and wherein each intermediate link is an elastomeric or polymeric ring (para. 0090; as shown in Fig. 9; Fox Industries FX-70-6 is a polymeric material, specifically a three-component, 100% solids marine epoxy grout).
For these reasons, the arguments are not persuasive.
Regarding claims 7-16, Applicant relies on the same arguments, therefore, the same response applies.
Conclusion
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/ALBA T ROSARIO-APONTE/Examiner, Art Unit 3761 08/17/2026
/ELIZABETH M KERR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3761
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