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 21 is objected to because of the following informalities: the limitation “each porous filter element” on line 6 & 8 are not consistent with the previous language “unfastened porous filter elements”. Examiner suggests rewriting to state “each unfastened porous filter element”. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim 1-4, 6 and their dependent claims 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.
Claim 1 recites the limitation “at least one contaminant” on line 2 and “the contaminant” on line 8. It is not clear if these limitations are the same as each other, or as “contaminants” as on line 1, or if they are all different. Examiner interprets them to be all the same. Claims 2, 3 and 6 recite “the contaminant” as well.
Claim 4 recites the limitation “the porous filter elements”. However, there is only one “porous filter element” recited in Claim 1, making it unclear how many porous filter elements there are. Examiner interprets them to be the same.
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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 7-11 & 15-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Prince et al., (“Prince”, US 2014/0048741).
Regarding Claims 1-3, 7-11 & 15-17, Prince discloses a process for removing contaminants from a fluid stream comprising: contacting a fluid stream containing at least one contaminant with a porous filter element, (See Abstract, See paragraph [0007], [0064]), the porous filter element comprising a binder, the binder comprising thermoplastic polymer particles sintered together to form a porous structure, (See Abstract and See paragraph [0009]), each porous filter element further comprising a chemical scavenger contained in the porous structure, the porous filter element having a three dimensional, non-planar shape, (See Abstract, See paragraph [0009], [0108]); and wherein the contaminant comprises an ion that binds to the chemical scavenger contained in the porous structure of the porous filter element, (See paragraphs [0083], [0085], [0097], or [0108]).
Additional Disclosures Included:
Claim 2: A process as defined in claim 1, wherein the contaminant comprises a metal, (See paragraph [0083]).
Claim 3: A process as defined in claim 1, wherein the contaminant comprises rhodium, palladium, platinum, iron, copper, mercury, or mixtures thereof, (See paragraph [0083]).
Claim 6: A process as defined in claim 1, further comprising the step of removing and recovering the contaminant from the chemical scavenger.
Claim 7: A process as defined in claim 1, wherein the fluid stream is part of a pulp and paper process, part of a water treatment process, part of a beverage purification process, part of an oil and gas process, part of a catalyst recovery process, part of a pharmaceutical process, or part of a chemical purification process, (See paragraphs [0082]-[0086]).
Claim 8: A process according to claim 1, wherein the thermoplastic polymer particles comprise high density polyethylene polymer particles having a molecular weight of from about 1 million to about 10 million g/mol, (See Abstract, paragraph [0009], [0093]; anticipates the claimed range from 4 million to 10 million g/mol).
Claim 9: A process according to claim 8, wherein the high density polyethylene polymer particles have a bulk density of less than about 0.34 g/cc prior to sintering, (See paragraphs [0040] or [0042]; anticipating from 0 to 0.25 g/cc or 0 to 0.33 g/cc).
Claim 10: A process according to claim 8, wherein the high density polyethylene polymer particles have an average particle size (D50) of less than about 50 microns, (See paragraph [0014], [0019]; anticipates the claimed range from 10 to 50 or from 6 to 50 microns).
Claim 11: A process according to claim 8, wherein the high density polyethylene polymer particles have a multi-lobal shape, (See Abstract, paragraph [0009], [0091]).
Claim 15: A process according to claim 1, wherein the chemical scavenger comprises a scavenger component immobilized on a solid carrier, (See paragraph [0108]).
Claim 16: A process according to claim 15, wherein the solid carrier comprises silica particles, alumina particles, zeolite particles, clay particles, silicate particles, or mixtures thereof, (See paragraph [0108]).
Claim 17: A process according to claim 15, wherein the scavenger component comprises a polyvinyl pyrrolidone, an aminoalkyl compound, a mercaptoalkyl compound, a thiourea, an alkyl thiourea, an imino diacetate, an aminomethyl phosphonic acid, a benzyl amine, an imidazole, an amine, a thiol, an imidazolylpropyl amino, a mercaptophenyl amino, an aminoethyl amino, a polybenzimidazole, or mixtures thereof, (See paragraph [0135]).
Claim(s) 1, 6, 12, 13 & 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Koizumi et al., (“Koizumi”, US 2004/0212123).
Regarding Claims 1, 6, 12, 13 & 20, Koizumi discloses a process for removing contaminants from a fluid stream, (See paragraph [0001]), comprising: contacting a fluid stream containing at least one contaminant with a porous filter element, (See paragraph [0190], [0181]), the porous filter element comprising a binder, the binder comprising thermoplastic polymer particles sintered together to form a porous structure, (See paragraph [0072] & [0073]), each porous filter element further comprising a chemical scavenger contained in the porous structure, (See paragraphs [0068], [0069]), the porous filter element having a three dimensional, non-planar shape, (See Figure 2, See paragraph [0190], [0181]); and wherein the contaminant comprises an ion that binds to the chemical scavenger contained in the porous structure of the porous filter element, (See paragraph [0098]).
Additional Disclosures Included:
Claim 6: A process as defined in claim 1, further comprising the step of removing and recovering the contaminant from the chemical scavenger, (See paragraph [0190], ‘regeneration’).
Claim 12: A process according to claim 1, wherein the thermoplastic polymer particles comprise polyphenylene sulfide particles, (See paragraph [0072]).
Claim 13: A process according to claim 1, wherein the porous filter element has an average pore size of greater than about 4.5 nm, (See paragraph [0133]; anticipates the claimed range from 1 to 100 microns).
Claim 20: A process according to claim 1, wherein the porous filter element has a solid cylindrical shape or solid spherical shape, (See Figure 2, See paragraph [0190], [0181]).
Claim(s) 1, 4-7 & 14-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Nazir et al., (“Nazir”, US 2013/0323383).
Regarding Claims 1, 4-7 & 14-19, Nazir discloses a process for removing contaminants from a fluid stream, (See Abstract and paragraph [0001]), comprising: contacting a fluid stream containing at least one contaminant with a porous filter element, (See paragraph [0035], [0121], [0123]), the porous filter element comprising a binder, the binder comprising thermoplastic polymer particles sintered together to form a porous structure, (See paragraph [0012], [0068], [0098], [0136]), each porous filter element further comprising a chemical scavenger contained in the porous structure, (See paragraphs [0038], [0039], [0092]), the porous filter element having a three dimensional, non-planar shape, (Figure 12 or 13, See paragraph [0164], [0165]); and wherein the contaminant comprises an ion that binds to the chemical scavenger contained in the porous structure of the porous filter element, (See paragraph [0047], [0123]).
Additional Disclosures Included:
Claim 4: A process as defined in claim 1, wherein the fluid stream is fed to a cartridge containing a plurality of the porous filter elements, (Either Cylinders 42a-d, See Figure 12, or Sheets 52a-f, See Figure 13, See paragraph [0164], [0165]).
Claim 5: A process as defined in claim 4, wherein the plurality of the porous filter elements form a fixed bed in the cartridge through which the fluid steam is filtered, (Either Cylinders 42a-d, See Figure 12, or Sheets 52a-f, See Figure 13, See paragraph [0164], [0165]).
Claim 6: A process as defined in claim 1, further comprising the step of removing and recovering the contaminant from the chemical scavenger, (See paragraph [0103], [0148]; ‘regeneration’).
Claim 7: A process as defined in claim 1, wherein the fluid stream is part of a pulp and paper process, part of a water treatment process, part of a beverage purification process, part of an oil and gas process, part of a catalyst recovery process, part of a pharmaceutical process, or part of a chemical purification process, (See Abstract, paragraph [0035], [0123]).
Claim 14: A process according to claim 1, wherein the chemical scavenger comprises a polyvinyl lactum, (See paragraph [0086], [0092]).
Claim 15: A process according to claim 1, wherein the chemical scavenger comprises a scavenger component immobilized on a solid carrier, (See paragraph [0092]).
Claim 16: A process according to claim 15, wherein the solid carrier comprises silica particles, alumina particles, zeolite particles, clay particles, silicate particles, or mixtures thereof, (See paragraph [0092], [0093]).
Claim 17: A process according to claim 15, wherein the scavenger component comprises a polyvinyl pyrrolidone, an aminoalkyl compound, a mercaptoalkyl compound, a thiourea, an alkyl thiourea, an imino diacetate, an aminomethyl phosphonic acid, a benzyl amine, an imidazole, an amine, a thiol, an imidazolylpropyl amino, a mercaptophenyl amino, an aminoethyl amino, a polybenzimidazole, or mixtures thereof, (See paragraph [0089], [0093]).
Claim 18: A process according to claim 1, wherein the chemical scavenger is contained in the porous filter element in an amount greater than about 20% by weight, (See paragraph [0111] or [0112]).
Claim 19: A process according to claim 1, wherein the porous filter element is net shape molded, (Outer Cage 44 is net shaped with Cylinders 42a-d concentrically placed, See Figure 12, See paragraph [0164]).
Claim(s) 21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Snydacker, (US 2020/0230591).
Regarding Claim 21, Snydacker discloses a device for filtering fluids comprising: a cartridge including a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet, (Ion Exchange Column, See Figure 3, See paragraphs [0036], [0037]), the cartridge defining an interior enclosure, (Column, See Figure 3, See paragraphs [0036], [0037]); and a bed of unfastened porous filter elements loaded into the interior enclosure of the cartridge, (Various Porous Beads loaded within Column, See Figure 3, See paragraph [0036], [0037]), the unfastened porous filter elements having a greatest dimension of at least 0.5 mm, (See paragraph [0012], [0065] or [0066]; anticipates claimed range from 0.5 mm to 1 mm, or from 0.5 to 20 mm), each porous filter element comprising a binder, the binder comprising thermoplastic polymer particles, (See paragraph [0049], [0051], [0069]; matrix material), sintered together to form a porous structure, (See paragraph [0070]), each porous filter element further comprising a chemical scavenger contained in the porous structure such that the chemical scavenger is exposed to fluids flowing through the cartridge, (See paragraph [0051], [0058], [0037]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JONATHAN M PEO whose telephone number is (571)272-9891. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 9AM-5PM.
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/JONATHAN M PEO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1779