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 .
Drawings
The 11/10/23 drawings are provisionally accepted. Due to their complexity and numerosity, applicant’s assistance is requested to ensure that all component labels therein are correctly identified in the specification and vice versa. 37 CFR 1.3 (courtesy required).
Claim Interpretation
The claimed term “comburent” is understood to mean an oxidizing agent per par. 29 of the specification-as-filed. Claim 1’s phrase “substantially pure oxygen” is understood to mean ≥90% (dry volume) O2 per par. 68 of the specification-as-filed.
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 1-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b)/2nd par. as indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter that the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claims 1, 11, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b)/2nd par. as indefinite because their recitation “the decarbonated materials (50)” lacks sufficient antecedent bases.
Applicant is hereby advised that, as independent claim 1 and various dependent claims (see below) are rejected for deficiencies under 35 USC 112(b)/2nd par., all claims depending therefrom also contain such deficiencies and are likewise rejected (unless the deficiencies are resolved by the dependent claim’s own limitations) - cure thereof is required for any and all claims affected even if any such claim were otherwise found allowable. See, e.g., In re Jolly, 172 F.2d 566, 567 (CCPA 1949) (holding that dependent claims of indefinite claims are thusly indefinite), and Ex parte Kristensen, 10 USPQ2d 1701, 1702-04 (BPAI 1989) (same); 35 USC 112(d)/4th par.
Claim 1 is also rejected for indefiniteness under 35 U.S.C. 112(b)/2nd par. because the meaning and import of its recitation “the streams (90) comprising at least 30% water (dry volume)” is unclear, creating confusion as to the claimed scope and how to avoid infringement thereof. MPEP 2173.02. It is unclear how the content/concentration of water, which is wet rather than dry, can be expressed in terms of “dry volume”.
Claims 21-22 are rejected for indefiniteness under 35 U.S.C. 112(b)/2nd par. because their recitation “the storage tank (920)” lacks sufficient antecedent bases.
Potentially Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-22 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the above 35 U.S.C. 112(b)/2nd par. rejections detailed above. Regarding claim 1, the most pertinent prior art of record appears to be the 2002 Maerz® article (“Maerz”) (see applicant’s 11/10/23 IDS). Maerz teaches a method of decarbonating carbonated materials within a multi-shaft vertical kiln (“MSVK”) that comprises two shafts with preheating zones, heating zones, and cooling zones, with a cross-channel between the shafts (allowing cooling and exhaust gas streams to be sent from one shaft to the other), comprising alternatively heating carbonated materials by combusting a coal-based fuel with a comburent/oxidant to a T at which CO2 is released from the carbonated materials and thus generating an exhaust gas, and cooling the thus-decarbonated materials in the cooling zones with cooling streams. See Maerz at, e.g., §§5.3, 5.4.3, 5.8, and 6.1; Figs. 2, 3a-b, 4, 10, 12, and 16. However, Maerz’s comburent/oxidant, which is consistently taught to be air, is not oxygen-enriched air or substantially pure oxygen as claim 1 requires. Further, it is known in the prior art that “Calciner[s]… are normally run on air which contains about 21% oxygen[.] … Most calciners [ ] may not be able to run on pure oxygen because they may not have intense enough mixing of solids and gases and the flame temperature in a pure oxygen environment results in hot spots which will destroy the calciner.” See, e.g., Heidel et al., US 8,728,428 (2014) (“Heidel”) at col. 7, ln. 52-63. Given this, and Maerz’s consistent teaching that its comburent/oxidant is air (rather than oxygen-enriched air or substantially pure oxygen as claimed), employing the claimed comburent/oxidant is considered to be non-obvious. MPEP 2143.01 V-VI.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL BERNS whose telephone number is (469)295-9161. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30-5:00 (Central). 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, Anthony Zimmer can be reached at (571) 270-3591. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/DANIEL BERNS/ July 28, 2026
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1736
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