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 .
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed on 07/14/2026 has been entered. Claim(s) 1-20 is/are pending in the application.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1-4, 9, 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Satoshi et al. (JP2011225926A) in view of Heitmann (US3469970).
Regarding Claim 1, Satoshi teaches a raw material particle for agglomeration comprising: [0011]
A central part made of a mixture of iron powder such as steelmaking dust (conventionally 20-50% Fe), RHF powder (or sponge iron powder with conventionally 90-94% Fe) and mill scale powder (conventionally 68-72% Fe) to make an agglomerated ore with an iron oxide shell [0025-0026]; however, the prior art does not teach or suggest the core has a concentration of 70% mass or more, however, Heitmann teaches ground sponge iron may be used as a pelletizing powder for making pellets with at least 80% metallic iron (abstract) for the purpose of forming shaped bodies from the pellets without the need for excess pressure (Col. 2, Lines 40-55), where optionally high grade iron ore may be mixed with the sponge iron powder (See Claim 4); therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art seeking to form high grade iron pellets would have been motivated to modify the method of Satoshi to use recovered sponge iron or RHF powder with such a composition that a pellet with high Fe iron content is formed so as to improve pelletization for molding and sintering in further processing steps.
A peripheral part (shell) that covers the central part made of iron oxide; [0011]
Regarding Claim 2, Satoshi teaches the outer layer has an alumina Al2O3 concentration of 1.57% after calcination (and more before), reading on the claimed range of 1.5% or more alumina (See Table 2)
Regarding Claims 3 and 12, the central part has a size of 3 mm [0012] reading on the claimed range of 2-6 mm
Regarding Claim 4, Satoshi teaches a peripheral thickness of 1-10 mm, overlapping with the claimed range of 2-5 mm [0022] (In the case where a claimed range overlaps with a range taught by the prior art, a prima facie case of obviousness exists. (See MPEP 2144.05(I)))
Regarding Claim 9, Satoshi teaches sintering conditions of 1200 C in an oxidative atmosphere (supply air) See Table 5.
Claim(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Satoshi et al. (JP2011225926A) in view of Heitmann (US3469970) in further view of Goskel (US4239530).
Regarding Claim 2, Satoshi is silent regarding the claimed range of water of crystallization (hydrate); however, Goskel teaches a method of agglomerating pulverized iron ore concentrate mixed with carbonaceous material (abstract) and teaches a starting mixture is made by blending the mixture with a sufficient amount of water to form a moistened mixture (Col. 4, Lines 20-25) with a total amount of water of 10-20% by weight (Col. 5, Lines 45-55); therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to use hydrate or liquid water in the claimed range for the purpose of insuring sufficient moisture to form an agglomerated product of Satoshi.
Claim(s) 5-7, 13-14, 16 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Satoshi et al. (JP2011225926A) in view of Heitmann (US3469970) in further view of Holowaty (US3314780A).
Regarding Claims 5, 13-14 and 16, Satoshi teaches the raw material was prepared by crushing ironmaking dust to 70 microns or less; mixing the powder and granulating the mixture to obtain the raw material particle [0034] with a binder [0025] ; however, the prior art is silent regarding the pretreatment including grinding and classifying to achieve the desired particle size; however Holowaty teaches a process of pelletizing ore where a desired iron ore particle size may be achieved by grinding and classifying (Col. 3, Lines 2-15); therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to modify the method of Satoshi to grind and classify the crushed powder in order to obtain a narrow uniform particle size for the raw iron powder to be mixed into a agglomerate.
Regarding Claim 6, the central part has a size of 3 mm [0012] reading on the claimed range of 2-6 mm
Regarding Claim 7, Satoshi teaches a peripheral thickness of 1-10 mm, overlapping with the claimed range of 2-5 mm [0022] (In the case where a claimed range overlaps with a range taught by the prior art, a prima facie case of obviousness exists. (See MPEP 2144.05(I)))
Regarding Claim 20, Satoshi teaches sintering conditions of 1200 C in an oxidative atmosphere (supply air) See Table 5.
Claim(s) 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Satoshi et al. (JP2011225926A) in view of Heitmann (US3469970) in further view of Goskel (US4239530) as applied to claim 4 above, in further view of Holowaty (US3314780A).
Regarding Claim 15, Satoshi teaches the raw material was prepared by crushing ironmaking dust to 70 microns or less; mixing the powder and granulating the mixture to obtain the raw material particle [0034] with a binder [0025] ; however, the prior art is silent regarding the pretreatment including grinding and classifying to achieve the desired particle size; however Holowaty teaches a process of pelletizing ore where a desired iron ore particle size may be achieved by grinding and classifying (Col. 3, Lines 2-15); therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to modify the method of Satoshi to grind and classify the crushed powder in order to obtain a narrow uniform particle size for the raw iron powder to be mixed into a agglomerate.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 8, 10-11, 17-19 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: The closet prior art of record is Satoshi et al. (JP2011225926A) as used above, which teaches an agglomerate containing a core and shell structure; however the prior art does not teach or suggest that upon baking, a three-layer structure is formed AND the core becomes a void after baking.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any combination of references applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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.
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/RICARDO D MORALES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1738
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