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 without traverse of claims 10-12 in the reply filed on 5/11/26 is acknowledged.
The examiner acknowledges with appreciation the error in the restriction of misidentifying claims 13-15 in group II. Accordingly claims 1-9 and 13-15 are withdrawn from consideration, but will be considered for rejoinder upon finding of allowable subject matter.
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) 10-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a(1) as being anticipated by Taniguchi et al (US 7,160,455).
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Taniguchi’s fig. 32 is copied herein with the claimed elements annotated. It shows a hollow fiber membrane element (1, fig. 1) having plurality of hollow fibers (2) inside an elongated body (19), the hollow fibers are affixed at the upper end to the body and has separate concentrate and permeate outlets as marked. The bottom end of the body is stepped down to a narrower portion and having a shoulder (upper and lower sections) which is capable of resting on a pair of beams. The corresponding upper and lower cavities are marked.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Two other references are also cited in an 892 attached herewith. Of these Watanabe (US 7,083,726) shows a very similar design as in Taniguchi, See fig. 6.
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.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Prem C Singh can be reached at 571-272-6381. 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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