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 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: “waters” should be –water—(i.e., not pluralized).
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 1-6 are 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.
The term “large” in claim 1 (“large-molecular recycled waters”) is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “large” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. It is unclear from the context of the claim and corresponding specification what size dimensions would be within the scope of “large.”
The same analysis applies with respect to the term “small”. It is unclear from the context of the claim and corresponding specification what size dimensions would be within the scope of “small.”
Furthermore, it is not readily apparent what is meant by “large-molecular” and “small-molecular” water in general. A water molecule consists of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. It is unclear what makes a molecule of water small or large as it relates to the intended scope of the claimed invention. Does Applicant mean droplet size?
Regarding claim 1, the limitation “the distilling body includes…a second atomizing nozzle arranged on a side of a top thereof and having a returning mouth for producing small-molecular recycled waters from the large-molecular recycled waters of the feeding opening” is unclear as it relates to the structural features of the claimed apparatus. It is unclear how the second nozzle produces the “small-molecular water” from the “large-molecular water of the feeding opening”. The latter is introduced through the first nozzle into the distilling body. The claim does not make clear how the water travels from the first nozzle to the returning mouth of the second nozzle in order to produce the “small-molecular recycled water”. The structural details of the distilling body are therefore unclear as claimed.
Claim 2 recites the limitation "the water liquids" in line 9. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Discussion of Pertinent Art
The office notes the following prior art references which are considered pertinent to the claimed invention:
Berberi (US 5,472,576): discloses an apparatus comprising a storage bucket (mixer-reactor 2) and a distilling body (fractionating column 13). The mixer-reactor comprises an inlet (pipe 41) on one side of the top thereof and an outlet (hose 12) on the opposite side of the top. The mixer-reactor has a stirrer 9 fixed to a motor and heating coils 11 which surround the outside. A discharge orifice 4 is on the bottom and the outlet 12 on the top is connected to the fractionating column 13 (see Fig. 1; col. 3, line 15 – col. 4, line 38).
Chung et al (US 2010/0274068): discloses an apparatus comprising a distillation unit 30 comprising a stirring unit 301 disposed within an evaporation tank 300. A heating portion 302 is disposed peripherally around the tank. An inlet 90 and outlet 303 are positioned at the top of the tank (see Fig. 3; [0025]).
Neither Berberi nor Chung discloses features of the distilling body as claimed (as presently understood by the office).
Hammon et al (US 2016/0083267): discloses a column 101 comprising lower spray nozzles 1015 and upper spray nozzles 1019. The column comprises packing (i.e., filtration elements) 1105 and a screen element 1017 (see Fig. 2; [0074]-[0075]). The inlets 301 and 303 are heat transfer circuits (see [0029]; [0031]; [0071]) and do not appear to be interconnected in a manner intended by Applicant’s claimed apparatus (as presently understood by the office).
While the above references, considered alone or in combination, do not appear to fully teach and/or suggest Applicant’s apparatus, as it is best understood by the office at present, indication of allowable subject matter is not indicated at this time due to the nature of the claim rejections under 35 USC 112(b), in particular the inability to ascertain the structural requirements of the claimed distilling body of the apparatus.
Conclusion
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/Renee Robinson/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1772