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 § 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over KR10-1480253 to Baek (Baek) in view of WO2017-037809 to Shiroyama et al. (Shiroyama).
In reference to claim 1, Baek teaches a refrigerant charging system for a reliquefaction system for ships comprising a reliquefaction system (FIG. 1-2) provided to a ship (par 0004 and 0005) and reliquefying boil-off gas generated in a liquefied gas storage tank (10, FIG. 1-2) by compressing the boil-off gas (in 50, FIG. 1) and subjecting the compressed boil-off gas to heat exchange with refrigerant supplied to a heat exchanger (70, FIG. 1-2) while circulating along a refrigerant circulation line (71, FIG. 1-2); a buffer tank (110, FIG. 1-2) storing utility N₂ to be supplied to the ship; and a first load-up line (111, FIG. 1-2) along which the utility N₂ is supplied from the buffer tank (110, FIG. 1-2) to the refrigerant circulation line (71, FIG. 1-2) without passing through the booster compressor, wherein, upon initial charging in a non-operation state of the reliquefaction system, the refrigerant circulation line (71, FIG. 2) is charged with refrigerant by supplying the utility N₂ from the buffer tank (110, FIG. 2) to the refrigerant circulation line along the first load-up line (111, FIG. 2) by a pressure differential between the refrigerant circulation line and the buffer tank (FIG. 2), but does not teach a booster compressor receiving the utility N₂ from the buffer tank, compressing the received utility N₂, and supplying the compressed utility N₂ to the refrigerant circulation line. Shiroyama teaches a LNG fuel-receiving system for use in a ship (FIG. 1-2) comprising a booster compressor (booster pump 1 receiving the LNG from the supply tank via 7a, FIG. 1-2) receiving the utility N₂ from the buffer tank, compressing the received utility N₂, and supplying the compressed utility N₂ to the refrigerant circulation line (7c, FIG. 1-2) in order to provide pressurized refrigerant to the heat exchanger for further storage and transport (par 0018).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Baek, to include a booster compressor receiving the utility N₂ from the buffer tank, compressing the received utility N₂, and supplying the compressed utility N₂ to the refrigerant circulation line, as taught by Shiroyama, in order to provide pressurized refrigerant to the heat exchanger for further storage and transport.
In reference to claim 2, Baek and Shiroyama teach the system as explained in the rejection of claim 1 above, and Shiroyama additionally teaches a second load-up line (7b, FIG. 1-2) along which the utility N₂ (7a, FIG. 1-2) is supplied from the buffer tank to the refrigerant circulation line (7c, FIG. 1-2) through the booster compressor (1, FIG. 1-2), wherein, upon refrigerant charging for load-up of the reliquefaction system, the utility N₂ from the buffer tank is pressurized by the booster compressor (1, FIG. 1-2) along the second load-up line (7b, FIG. 1-2) and is supplied to the refrigerant circulation line (7c, FIG. 1-2), when a pressure in the refrigerant circulation line is higher than or equal to a pressure in the buffer tank (FIG. 1-2).
In reference to claim 3, Baek and Shiroyama teach the system as explained in the rejection of claim 1 above, and Shiroyama additionally teaches a first load-down line (7d, FIG. 1-2) connected from the refrigerant circulation line to the buffer tank and allowing the refrigerant to be discharged there along; and a second load-down line (from 6e to 7c, FIG. 1) connected from the refrigerant circulation line to the buffer tank through the booster compressor (1, FIG. 1), wherein, upon load-down of the reliquefaction system, the refrigerant is discharged from the refrigerant circulation line along the first load-down line by a pressure differential between the refrigerant circulation line and the buffer tank, and the refrigerant in the refrigerant circulation line is returned to the buffer tank through the booster compressor along the second load-down line when a pressure in the buffer tank is higher than or equal to a pressure in the refrigerant circulation line (FIG. 1).
In reference to claim 4, Baek and Shiroyama teach the system as explained in the rejection of claim 3 above, and Baek additionally teaches the refrigerant circulation line is provided with a refrigerant compressor (81, FIG. 1-2) compressing the refrigerant discharged from the heat exchanger (via 113 to 71, FIG. 2) after cooling the boil-off gas and an expander (82, FIG. 2) expanding and cooling the refrigerant compressed by the refrigerant compressor and having been cooled through the heat exchanger and supplying the cooled refrigerant to the heat exchanger (70, FIG. 1-2); and, upon charging the refrigerant into the refrigerant circulation line, the utility N₂ is supplied from the buffer tank to an upstream side of the refrigerant compressor on the refrigerant circulation line and, upon load-down of the reliquefaction system, the refrigerant is discharged from a downstream side of the refrigerant compressor on the refrigerant circulation line to the buffer tank (FIG. 1-2).
In reference to claim 5, Baek and Shiroyama teach the system as explained in the rejection of claim 1 above, and Baek additionally teaches wherein the buffer tank is provided to a nitrogen generation device generating utility N₂ to be supplied as refrigerant for the reliquefaction system (FIG. 1-2).
In reference to claim 6, Baek and Shiroyama teach the system as explained in the rejection of claim 5 above, and Baek additionally teaches wherein the nitrogen generation device further comprises a nitrogen generator (120, FIG. 1-2) generating the utility N₂ from compressed air and delivering the generated utility N₂ to the buffer tank; and an air compressor compressing air and supplying the compressed air to the nitrogen generator (generating refrigerant for the heat exchanger, par 0050).
In reference to claim 7, Baek and Shiroyama teach the system as explained in the rejection of claim 6 above, but do not teach wherein the utility N₂ is supplied from the buffer tank to the refrigerant circulation line without further drying the utility N₂ by disposing a dryer downstream of the nitrogen generator to reduce a dew point of the utility N₂.
However, the Examiner takes the Official Notice of facts not in the record by relying on “common knowledge” of various liquefaction process wherein the utility N₂ is supplied from the buffer tank to the refrigerant circulation line without further drying the utility N₂ by disposing a dryer downstream of the nitrogen generator to reduce a dew point of the utility N₂ to be obvious in order to provide for easy mixture with the cooled N₂ coming from the heat exchanger.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
See attached PTO-892 for relevant prior art.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILIP ZEC whose telephone number is (571)270-5846. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri; 9-5.
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, JD Fletcher can be reached at 5712705054. 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.
/FILIP ZEC/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763
1/9/2026