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 .
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: In line 1 of paragraph 82, “y” should be changed to “By”.
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.
Claims 1-5 is 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 is indefinite because line 8 recites “flow path supplying compressed air,” but it is unclear whether this is positively reciting the compressed air. It appears that “for” should be inserted after “path” to indicate intended use as in the rest of the claim.
Claim 4 is indefinite because it recites a second scavenging flow path and a second scavenging valve, but there is no first path or first valve. To overcome this rejection, claim 4 should be amended to depend from claim 3.
Claims 2, 3 and 5 are rejected for depending from an indefinite parent 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)(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 and 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ogasahara (5,242,473).
Ogasahara ‘473 teaches an adsorption dryer comprising a cylindrical rotary adsorption rotor including a honeycomb with walls coated with adsorbent and defining axial flow paths, a cylindrical casing (5) with end caps that rotatably support the rotor and partition it into a treatment zone (A), a regeneration zone (B) and a cooling zone (C), inlet and outlet flow paths respectively connected to each zone, and a fan (12) for supplying air to the rotor, wherein the cooling zone inlet supplies a part of the air (16) having flowed through the rotor flow path of the treatment zone (see figures 1a-2, col. 4, line 39 to col. 5, line 55, col. 6, lines 3-17).
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) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ogasahara ‘473 in view of Fredenhagen et al. (2011/0132191 A1).
Ogasahara ‘473 discloses all of the limitations of the claim except that the rotor rotates concentrically in the cylindrical housing (the cylindrical housing also rotates in Ogasahara). Fredenhagen et al. ‘191 disclose a rotary adsorbent device (11) that rotates inside of a housing (5) (see figures 2, 4, col. 3, lines 26-34, paragraph 89). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify the housing of Ogasahara ‘473 by using the cylindrical housing of Fredenhagen et al. ‘191 in order to provide an arrangement that protects the rotor while sealing the zones and not having external moving parts.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 7 is 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.
Claims 2-4 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 rotary adsorbent 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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