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 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.
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) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO2000077082A1 page 4 lines 13-17 and page 6 lines 5-26 in view of DE10062432A1 page 2 lines 30-39 in view USP5264592 col. 2 lines 7-18.
Claim 1 is directed to a method for at least partially separating a first polyolefin and a second polyolefin from aplastic waste, wherein said method comprises: dissolving the first polyolefin and the second polyolefin in a first solvent at an elevated temperature to obtain a polyolefin solution; cooling the polyolefin solution using at least a first cooling surface and a second cooling surface, wherein the first cooling surface has a lower temperature than the precipitation temperature of the first polyolefin and the second cooling surface has a higher temperature than the precipitation temperature of the first polyolefin; precipitating the first polyolefin on the first cooling surface; and - separating the precipitated first polyolefin from the polyolefin solution to obtain a first-polyolefin rich fraction and a second-polyolefin rich fraction.
WO2000077082A1 discloses a method of separating polyolefin synthetic mixtures, based on a polyolefin synthetic fraction or a synthetic mixture as the starting material which is contacted with a solvent and the temperature of the solvent/synthetic mixture is adjusted in such a manner that a solution with at least one dissolved polymer type is formed. See page 4 lines 13-17 and page 6 lines 5-26.
WO2000077082A1 does not discloses performing the step of cooling using first and second cooling surfaces, wherein the first cooling surface has a lower temperature than the precipitation temperature of the first polyolefin and the second cooling surface has a higher temperature than the precipitation temperature of the first polyolefin; precipitating the first polyolefin on the first cooling surface.
DE10062432A1 discloses a method for separating at least one selected polymer from a mixture of polymers, comprising the following steps: (a) dissolving the mixture of polymers in a first solvent, with the concentration of the polymer mixture in the solution being adjusted to 1 to 50 wt. %; (b) cooling the solution to a temperature T1, at which the selected polymer or the selected polymers at least partially precipitate(s) out in the form of a solid; (c) separating said solid from the solution; (d) washing the separated solid in a second solvent at a temperature T2 which is higher than the temperature T1; and (e) separating the washed solid from the second solvent. According to a variant, the suspension that is produced in step (b) is subjected to further addition of solvent and treatment. See page 2 lines 30-39 and page 3 lines 1-17.
USP5264592 discloses crystallizing a selected material directly on a cooled heat-transfer surface, technically removing the crystallized material, and separating the resulting solid from the remaining liquid. See col. 2 lines 7-18, col. 3 lines 31-50 and col. 4 lines 1-13.
Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the staged cooling process of WO2000077082A1 modified by the temperature control process by DE10062432A1 using the cooled surface crystallization steps of USP5264592 to place the precipitated material on a cooling surface, improve heat transfer and temperature control, help removal of the precipitated polymer and provide selective separation of polymer fractions.. One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to employ one crystallization step for another to achieve the expected result.
Claim 2 is directed to the method according to claim 1, further comprising recovering the second polyolefin from the second-polyolefin rich fraction, .
WO2000077082A1 discloses recovery of the second polyolefin from the second polyolefin fraction which separates and recovers PP and LDPE from the remining solution. See page 6 lines 15-26.
Claim 3 is directed to the method according to claim 1, further comprising recovering the first polyolefin from the first-polyolefin rich fraction.
WO2000077082A1 discloses recovering of the first polyolefin from the first polyolefin fraction which separates the precipitated HDPE and then degasses the recovered HDPE fraction.
Claim 4 is directed to the method according to claim 1, wherein said plastic waste further comprises a non-soluble fraction and said method further comprises removing said non-soluble fraction from the polyolefin solution.
WO2000077082A1 discloses the removal of a nonsoluble fraction from the polyolefin solution which removes insoluble constituents by filtration, centrifugation or other types of separation. See page 5 lines 37-40.
Claim 5 is directed to the method according to claim 1, wherein said plastic waste comprises multi-material composites. The use of plastic waste comprising multi material composites would have been known in the art since waste commonly contains several materials.
Claim 6 is directed to the method according to claim 1, wherein the first solvent is a low-boiling solvent.
WO2000077082A1 discloses a low boiling fist solvent which discloses hexane as a solvent See page 5 lines 32-36
Claim 7 is directed to the method according to claim 1,
WO2000077082A1 discloses heating the solvent at elevated pressure which heats an n-hexane solution above 170C under solvent overpressure.
Claim 8 is directed to the method according to claim 1,DE10062432A1 discloses the use of anti-solvent or precipitant.
Claim 9 is directed to the method according to claim 1, wherein the at least first and second cooling surfaces have different surface dimensions.
The use of cooling surfaces having different surface dimension would have been obvious to the skilled artisan as routine optimization as desired.
Claim 10 is directed to the method according to claim 1, wherein a continuous circulation is provided in the polyolefin solution.
USP5264592 discloses continuous circulation which describes continuous crystallizers, pumped material flow, and rotary scraping.
Claim 11 is directed to the method according to claim 1, wherein said first polyolefin is linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) and said second polyolefin is low density polyethylene (LDPE) or wherein said first polyolefin is polypropylene and
WO2000077082A1 discloses process mixtures containing PPLDPE, LLDPE and HDPE. See page 5 lines 29-35 and page 6 lines 5-26.
Claim 12 is directed to the method according to claim 1, wherein the plastic waste is subjected to a pre-treatment step before and/or after dissolving the first polyolefin and the second polyolefin.
WO2000077082A1 discloses post dissolution pretreatment which cleans the dissolved polyolefin solution by filtration, centrifugation, or mechanical separation.
Claim 13 is directed to the method according to claim 1, wherein the temperature of the first cooling surface is 5-10 °C below the precipitation temperature of the first polyolefin. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to employ particular amounts and/or parameters as known in the art, since it is well-established that merely selecting proportions and ranges is not patentable absent a showing of criticality. In re Becket, 33 U.S.P.Q. 33 (C.C.P.A. 1937). In re Russell, 439 F.2d 1228, 169 U.S.P.Q. 426 (C.C.P.A. 1971).
Claim 14 is directed to the Amended) The method according to claim 1 wherein the method is carried out in a system (1) comprising a vessel (2) for holding a polyolefin solution (3), a first cooling surface (4) and a second cooling surface (5), wherein the first cooling surface is at least partially submerged in the polyolefin solution and wherein the second cooling surface at least partially, surrounds the polyolefin solution.
USP5264592 discloses teaches a vessel and internally cooled crystallization surface and an external cooling jacket. See col. 4 lines 1-13 and col. 5 lines 5-18.
Claim 15 is directed to the method according to claim 2, wherein the second polyolefin is recovered from the second-polyolefin rich fraction by substantially removing the first solvent.
WO2000077082A1 discloses substantially removing the first solvent to recover a polyolefin which recovers precipitated fractions through degassing and solvent removal. See page 6 lines 8-13 and 20-26.
Claim 16 is directed to the method according to claim 3, wherein the first polyolefin is recovered from the first-polyolefin rich fraction by dissolving the first-polyolefin rich fraction in a second solvent at an elevated temperature followed by substantially removing said second solvent. See discussion for claim 2 above.
Claim 17 is directed to the method according to claim 5, wherein said plastic waste comprises multilayered foils. See discussion for claim 5 aobve.
Claim 18 is directed to the method according to claim 16, wherein the second solvent is a low-boiling solvent. See discussion for claim 6 above.
Claim 19 is directed to the method according to claim 16, wherein the second solvent is heated at an elevated pressure. See discussion for claim 7 above.
Claim 20 is directed to the method according to claim 9, wherein the surface area of the first cooling surface is smaller than the surface area of the second cooling surface. See discussion for claim 9 above.
In conclusion, in view of the above, there appears to be no significant difference between the reference(s) and that which is claimed by applicant(s). Any differences not specifically mentioned appear to be conventional. Consequently, the claimed invention cannot be deemed as unobvious and accordingly is unpatentable.
Information Disclosure Statement
Note that any future and/or present information disclosure statements must comply with 37 CFR § 1.98(b), which requires a list of the publications to include: the author (if any), title, relevant pages of the publication, date and place of publication to be submitted for consideration by the Office.
Improper Claim Dependency
Prior to allowance, any dependent claims should be rechecked for proper dependency if independent claims are cancelled.
Correspondence
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TERRESSA M BOYKIN whose telephone number is (571)272-1069. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7-5:30.
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, Heidi Kelley can be reached at 571 270-1831. 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.
/Terressa Boykin/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1765
Prosecution Insights