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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of claims 1-12 in the reply filed on 1/9/26 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that claim 1 is allowable. This is not found persuasive because: see office action below.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 and 103
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.
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) 1-7, 10 and 20-27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Marschke, et al., (US 2013/0161258).
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Marschke teaches in figs. 1 and 2 a bypass control sleeve as disclosed and claimed. Asymmetrical or curved forward shape – fig. 2. Protrusions (wings 14) do wrap or can be wrapped circumferentially in discrete circles or as spirals or helical patterns. The width of the valley definitely falls within the range claimed in figures 1 and 2. Valleys would have constant diameter when wrapped. Protrusions form concave shaped as claimed in claim 5. (Please note that the protrusion or wing can be placed upon the valley: [0022]) The protrusions are also asymmetric. The combination with the membrane element is in a housing – fig. 4.
The flow pattern resulting from the positioning of the sleeve is not patentable, but is as claimed – see fig. 3, arrow X.
Claim(s) 8, 9, 11 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Marschke, et al., (US 2013/0161258).
These claims recite the relative dimensions, pitch and clearances, which are within the capability of one of ordinary kill in the art to design to provide the appropriate seal or the required bypass flow rate in the spiral wound membrane element, depending on the size of the elements in terms of length and diameter.
In Gardner v. TEC Syst., Inc., 725 F.2d 1338, 220 USPQ 777 (Fed. Cir. 1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 830, 225 USPQ 232 (1984), the Federal Circuit held that, where the only difference between the prior art and the claims was a recitation of relative dimensions of the claimed device and a device having the claimed relative dimensions would not perform differently than the prior art device, the claimed device was not patentably distinct from the prior art device.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KRISHNAN S MENON whose telephone number is (571)272-1143. The examiner can normally be reached Flexible, but generally Monday-Friday: 8:00AM-4:30PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Vickie Kim can be reached at 5712720579. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KRISHNAN S MENON/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1777
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