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 .
Drawings
Figures 1 and 6 should be designated by a legend such as --Prior Art-- because only that which is old is illustrated. See MPEP § 608.02(g). Corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The replacement sheet(s) should be labeled “Replacement Sheet” in the page header (as per 37 CFR 1.84(c)) so as not to obstruct any portion of the drawing figures. If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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 1-20 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 "the stripping column" in line 13. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 19 recites the limitation "the stripping column" in line 18. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claims 2-18 and 20 are rejected for depending from an indefinite claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-4, 6, 8, 13, 17 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Matsuo et al. (2025/0256238 A1).
It is noted that the effective filing date of the reference is April 27, 2022 because all of the subject matter relied on is clearly disclosed in the foreign priority application and its publication, JP 2023-162661 A (see figures and machine-generated English translation).
Matsuo et al. ‘238 teach a carbon dioxide recovery process, comprising feeding a carbon dioxide containing gas (7) to a water quench column (3) for cooling, flowing the cooled gas (8) to an absorber column (4), contacting the gas with a lean solvent (10) to absorb carbon dioxide and produce a rich solvent (9), flowing the rich solvent to a stripper column (5) containing packing (5a,5b) for producing a carbon dioxide overhead (20) and the lean solvent (10), contacting the lean solvent with the rich solvent in a heat exchanger (11), and using a heat pump (6) to cool the quenching water and to heat solvent containing carbon dioxide (35) from the stripper column before returning it (36) to below the lowest packing tray (see figure 1, paragraphs 28-33, 45, 47. The heat pump includes a compressor (28), condenser (29), a pressure reducing valve (30), and an evaporator (27), and uses a working fluid such as a chlorofluorocarbon, hydrofluorocarbon or hydrocarbon (paragraph 58) that is cooled in the condenser and heated in the evaporator.
Regarding claims 7-8, the heat pump can have a single stage or two compression stages (28a,28b) with an internal heat exchanger (44) (figures 5-6).
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.
Claim(s) 11, 12 and 14-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Matsuo et al. ‘238.
Matsuo et al. ‘238 disclose all of the limitations of the claims except that a preferred working fluid is used, having a preferred critical temperature and normal boiling point. However, it is disclosed that the refrigerant (working fluid) used is not particularly limited, but should have a critical temperature higher than the maximum refrigerant temperature at an inlet of the condenser (paragraph 58). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to select a particular refrigerant having a suitable critical temperature and normal boing point so that it functions in the heat pump to have appropriate vapor and liquid phases for heating and cooling in the process.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5, 7, 9, 10, 18 and 20 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The additional references listed on the attached PTO-892 form disclose gas scrubber and heat pump arrangements.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FRANK LAWRENCE whose telephone number is (571)272-1161. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8:30am-7pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jennifer Dieterle can be reached at 571-270-7872. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/FRANK M LAWRENCE JR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1776
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