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 19 is objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 19, the term "ration" should be "ratio".
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 1-3, 5, 7-12, 14, and 16-20 are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable by Allen – US 20080053221 and further in view of Anderson – US 20210269331.
As to claims 1 and 10, Allen teaches a system (fig.1) for analyzing cement slurry (fig.1 and [0061]: densitometer 38 is used for measuring density of cement slurry flowing from slurry tank 18; thus “a system for analyzing cement slurry”) comprising:
a chamber 18 receiving cement, the cement comprising a solid ([0007]: dry blend of cement corresponds to “solid”);
the chamber 18 comprising a mixing device 20 configured to mix the solid with a liquid ([0007]: water corresponds to “liquid”) to form a slurry ([0007]);
a flow control device 122 configured to stop a flow of the slurry with solid in a first state or move the flow of the slurry in a second state (fig.8 and [0085-0086]); and
a cement slurry density measurement device 120 configured to determine the density of the slurry when the flow of the slurry is stopped in the first state, and when the flow of the slurry is moving in the second state (fig.8 and [0085-0086]: measured density D1 before the valve 122 is closed corresponds to “determine the density of the slurry when the flow of the slurry is moving in the second state”; measured closed valve density D2 after the valve 122 is closed corresponds to “determine the density of the slurry when the flow of the slurry is stopped in the first state”).
Allen does not explicitly teach one or more agricultural materials; the agricultural material comprising a solid; an agricultural materials density measurement device configured to determine the density of the solid within the slurry.
Anderson teaches a concept of: an agricultural materials density measurement device ([0063]: sensing system 48 includes a level sensor 46 and load cells 49; The level sensor 46 may be used to determine the total volume of pretreated slurry in the collection vessel 67 and the load cells 49 may be used to determine the weight of the slurry. The measured and/or calculated volume and weight are used to determine the specific gravity (i.e., density) of the slurry and/or the solids content of the slurry (i.e., solids concentration); [0120]: slurries comprising soil; hence, the sensing system corresponds to “an agricultural materials density measurement device”; [0067]: the system may include any sensor or combination of sensors that are configured in a suitable manner that provides information related to the solids content of the pretreated slurry; thus “one or more agricultural materials; the agricultural material comprising a solid; an agricultural materials density measurement device configured to determine the density of the solid within the slurry”).
Anderson further teaches water is introduced to mix with the pretreated slurry to form the diluted slurry with the predetermined density or solids concentration ([0068]).
Anderson further teaches agricultural materials density measurement device comprises a U-tube device ([0066]: a Coriolis sensor may also measure fluid density; other alternatives to load cells include use of one or more oscillating u-tubes).
Anderson further teaches the system may include any sensor or combination of sensors that are configured in a suitable manner that provides information related to the solids content of the pretreated slurry. The sensors are generally configured with the controller 29 ([0067]; [0103]: the controller includes a processor and a memory; the processor processes the signals received from various sensors, selectors and control devices of the system; the memory stores instructions that are executed by the processor).
Since Allen teaches that the invention of Allen is in relationship to cement slurry for cementing a gas or oil well, the invention is not so limited ([0090]), it would thus have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify densitometer 38 of the system of Allen with sensing system of Anderson to include a system for analyzing one or more agricultural materials comprising: a chamber receiving an agricultural material, the agricultural material comprising a solid; the chamber comprising a mixing device configured to mix the solid with a liquid to form a slurry; a flow control device configured to stop a flow of the slurry with solid in a first state or move the flow of the slurry in a second state; and an agricultural materials density measurement device configured to determine the density of the solid within the slurry when the flow of the slurry is stopped in the first state, and when the flow of the slurry is moving in the second state (as recited in claim 1); a method for analyzing one or more agricultural materials comprising: receiving an agricultural material comprising a solid and a liquid in a chamber of a mixing device; mixing the solid and liquid to form a slurry; stopping a flow of the slurry in a first state or moving the flow slurry in a second state; and determining, via an agricultural materials density measurement device, the density of the solid within the slurry when the flow of the slurry is stopped in the first state and when the flow of the slurry is moving in the second state (as recited in claim 10); a processor configured to determine a ratio of the solid to the liquid in the slurry based on the determined density of the solid when the slurry is stopped in the first state and moving in the second state (as recited in claim 2), an additional amount of the liquid is added to the one or more agricultural materials depending on the determined ratio of the at least one solid to the at least one liquid in the one or more agricultural materials (as recited in claim 8); the processor is configured to determine the ratio of the solid to the liquid in the one or more agricultural materials based on the determined density of the solid and a density of the liquid which comprises the slurry (as recited in claim 9); a programmable processor which determines the ration of the solid to the liquid in the slurry (as recited in claim 19); the agricultural materials density measurement device is operably coupled to the processor (as recited in claim 20), to determine density of solids content of the slurry and to determine if more or less water is needed for diluting the slurry such that the slurry has a desired amount of density of solids within the slurry ([0063, 0069]).
As to claims 8-9, 11, and 17-20, claims 8-9, 11, and 17-20 are rejected as reasons stated in the rejection of claim 1.
As to claims 7 and 16, Allen teaches the flow control device 122 is at least one of a pump or a valve ([0084]: butterfly valve 122).
As to claims 3 and 12, claims 3 and 12 are rejected as reasons stated in the rejection of claim 1.
As to claims 5 and 14, claims 5 and 14 are rejected as reasons stated in the rejection of claim 1.
Claims 6 and 15 are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable by Allen and Anderson and in view of Neil – EP 2980577A1 and further in view of Situ – US 20110000796.
As to claims 6 and 15, modified Allen does not explicitly teach a measurement sub- system comprising one or more sensors and one or more ports, the one or more ports being configured to provide a fluid to clean the one or more sensors of the measurement sub-system, wherein the one or more sensors comprise at least one of an ion selective electrode sensor or an ion selective field-effect electrode sensor.
Neil teaches a concept of: agricultural industry has strong requirements to measure levels of contaminants using ISE sensor; ISE electrodes whatever the type and nature of the membrane must therefore be routinely cleaned, ideally after each measurement ([0005-0006]).
It would thus have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of modified Allen with concept teachings of Neil to include a measurement sub- system comprising one or more sensors, wherein the one or more sensors comprise at least one of an ion selective electrode sensor or an ion selective field-effect electrode sensor, to monitor levels of contaminants of water used in agricultural industry ([0004]).
Modified Allen does not explicitly teach one or more ports, the one or more ports being configured to provide a fluid to clean the one or more sensors of the measurement sub-system.
Situ teaches a concept of: providing a washing/cleaning liquid/fluid to rinse components of ISE system 40 i.e. analyte electrode 5 using wash conduit 2 coupled to the ISE system 40 (fig.1; [0037, 0023-0024]).
It would thus have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of modified Allen with concept teachings of Situ to include one or more ports, the one or more ports being configured to provide a fluid to clean the one or more sensors of the measurement sub-system, to remove any vestiges of used assay mixture that might interfere with subsequent measurements ([0036-0038]).
Claims 4 and 13 are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable by Allen and Anderson and further in view of Banks – US 3583209.
As to claims 4 and 13, modified Allen does not explicitly teach the U-tube device comprises a first straight portion and a second curved portion in fluidly coupled to the first straight portion, the first straight portion being oriented in a vertical direction.
Banks teaches U-tube device comprises a first straight portion 16 and a second curved portion 19 in fluidly coupled to the first straight portion 16, the first straight portion 16 being oriented in a vertical direction (fig.1 and col.2, lines 45-64: If the variable to be measured is the solids content or sediment in river water (or any other unknown mass of material in a fluid) than any change in the measurement of the density of the total fluid flowing through the body 11 is attributable to the change in the mass or the total solids content of the sediment in the water since the water density is constant; note that changes in the total solids (TS) or total suspended solids (TSS) content of water indicate changes in concentration (mass per volume), which directly correlate to changes in the overall density of the total solids content of the sediment in the water).
It would thus have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify U-tube device of the system of modified Allen with concept teachings of Banks to include the U-tube device comprises a first straight portion and a second curved portion in fluidly coupled to the first straight portion, the first straight portion being oriented in a vertical direction (as recited in claims 4 and 13), to provide an extremely sensitive and accurate density measurement of the total solids content of the fluid (col.2, lines 45-64).
Conclusion
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/TRUONG D PHAN/Examiner, Art Unit 2855
/JOHN E BREENE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2855