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 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 10 and 12 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.
Claim 10 recites the limitation "said controller" in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim 10 should be amended to depend from claim 9 to overcome this rejection. This is assumed for examination and in the prior art rejections below.
Claim 10 recites the limitation "said rotary processor" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. This may be changed to “said rotary device.”
Claim 12 recites the limitation "the reactivation air cooled by said evaporator" in lines 1-2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim 12 should be changed to depend from claim 3 to overcome this rejection.
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) 1-5 and 11-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Matuska et al. (2020/0009497 A1).
Matuska et al. ‘497 teach an ambient air water extraction arrangement, comprising a rotary device (3) containing a sorbent, a process sector (1) with an inlet (100) and an outlet (101) to flow process air through the sorbent for moisture adsorption, a reactivation sector (2) with an inlet (110) and an outlet (111) to flow reactivation air through the sorbent for moisture desorption, a drive to rotate the rotary device (inherent), a heat pump including a refrigerant circuit with a compressor (5), an expansion valve (7), a condenser (6), and an evaporator (4), fans (9a,9b) for flowing air in the sectors, and a collection tank (15) for condensed liquid water. The reactivation sector can be considered to be the region including the rotary device between the condenser and the evaporator, and the rotary device can be called a carousel because it is a rotating unit. The condenser heats reactivation air flowing to the rotary device and the evaporator cools air from the rotary device to condense out water (see figure 1, paragraphs 31-32). The supplying step of instant claim 12 does not structurally limit the claim in a way that distinguishes over the prior device, which is capable of supplying cooled reactivation air to any destination.
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 and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Matuska et al. ‘497 in view of Coellner et al. (5,632,943).
Matuska et al. ‘497 disclose all of the limitations of the claims except that a preferred sorbent is used and adhered to a substrate. Coellner et al. ‘943 disclose a desiccant wheel (10) including a zeolite desiccant that is coated on a substrate (see figure 2, col. 2, lines 19-28, col. 7, lines 10-26). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify the rotary sorbent of Matuska et al. ‘497 by using any known sorbent that is known to be effective for moisture adsorption from an air flow, and to use a coated substrate so that there is a high surface contact area between the desiccant and moisture in the air without an unacceptable drop in pressure through the wheel.
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Matuska et al. ‘497 in view of Yaghi et al. (2020/0361965 A1).
Matuska et al. ‘497 disclose all of the limitations of the claims except that a preferred metal-organic framework is used as the sorbent. Yaghi et al. ‘965 discloses the use of MOF_303 and MOF-801 for moisture capture from ambient air (see abstract, paragraphs 6 and 132). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify the sorbent of Matuska et al. ‘497 by using the metal-organic frameworks of Yaghi et al. ‘965 in order to provide a desiccant material that is viable and efficient even in low relative humidity conditions.
Claim(s) 9 and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mastuka et al. ‘497 in view of Friesen et al. (2018/0043295 A1).
Mastuka et al. ‘497 disclose all of the limitations of the claims except that there is a controller for receiving parameters from temperature or humidity sensors and controlling operation of the rotary processor and heat pump. Friesen et al. ‘295 disclose a water extraction control system including a processor and sensors for measuring ambient temperature and humidity, temperature and humidity in a process air and regeneration air pathways, rate of water production, and flow rate, temperature and humidity in a purge airflow path. The controller optimizes liquid water production by adjusting the rotation of a desiccant wheel and the speed of fan motors in the regeneration flow path based on sensed measurements and relating to current environmental and system conditions. The regeneration flow path fan motor adjustment will also affect operation of the heat pump because the refrigerant and heat exchange temperatures will change. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify the system of Matuska et al. ‘497 by using the control and sensor arrangement of Friesen et al. ‘295 in order to provide optimization of water production based on system and environmental conditions.
Conclusion
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.
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, 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.
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.
/FRANK M LAWRENCE JR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1776
fl