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 .
Priority
Applicant’s claim of priority as a 35 U.S.C. §371 national stage entry of
PCT/RU2021/000459 filed Nov. 16, 2021, which in turn claims priority to Russian Federation patent application RU 2021130176 filed Oct. 18, 2021, is hereby acknowledged.
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.
Claim 1, claims 2 and 3 that depend therefrom, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. §112(b), as 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.
Independent claim 1, lines 1-3, recites a “[m]ethod for producing ammonium bromide from a bromide-containing polycomponent hydromineral feedstock of commercial brines of the chloride calcium-magnesium type, which consists in the fact that the brine stream, purified from dissolved iron, manganese, and insoluble impurities, is subjected to preheating …”. It is unclear from the present specification and claims as to what is encompassed, and how to interpret, the phrase “bromide-containing polycomponent hydromineral feedstock of commercial brines of the chloride calcium-magnesium type”. This phrase is recited in the abstract; in the present specification (the paragraph bridging pages 2 and 3 and in the description of Fig. 1 on page 4), and in present independent claim 1.
However, the claim is vague and confusing because the present specification does not define the terms of the cited phrase, and a person skilled in the art cannot ascertain their meaning upon interpreting present claim 1, as to what the phrase bromide-containing polycomponent hydromineral feedstock of commercial brines of the chloride calcium-magnesium type actually encompasses (aside from containing bromide). The specification does not disclose how to interpret the terms: “polycomponent”; “hydromineral feedstock”; and “brines of the chloride calcium-magnesium type.” For example, does the recited brine, aside from bromide, contain chloride, calcium and magnesium? Or does it contain calcium bromide or magnesium bromide? Or, instead, does it contain “calcium chloride and/or magnesium chloride?
Correction of this issue by Applicant in a subsequent reply to this action is respectfully requested. For purpose of the present action, the phrase “bromide-containing polycomponent hydromineral feedstock of commercial brines of the chloride calcium-magnesium type” as a brine containing bromine and either chloride, magnesium or calcium.
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.
Claims 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. §102(a)(1) as anticipated by Hochwalt (US 1,872,292 A1 to Hochwalt et al., published Aug. 14, 1931).
Hochwalt discloses a process for manufacturing of substantially pure ammonium bromide from impure solutions of iron/copper bromide, wherein a solution containing mostly ferric bromide is treated with ammonium hydroxide and boiled, and wherein the iron is precipitated for the most part as ferric hydroxide with the formation of ammonium bromide and the precipitated iron removed by filtration or other suitable means, and wherein the ammonium bromide remains in solution (col. 1, lines 1-36; Figure 1).
Any ferrous bromide present in the iron bromide solution is usually oxidized during the treatment with ammonium hydroxide and boiling and any possible remaining ferrous or ferrous-ferric hydroxide is also precipitated during this treatment, wherein the precipitated iron is removed by filtration, wherein the filtrate containing the ammonium bromide that is subsequently boiled down to the proper concentration and crystallized in crystallizing tanks providing crystals of substantially pure ammonium bromide (col. 1, line 37 to col. 2, line 53; Example on page 3, lines, 18-120, of Hochwalt )
Hochwalt further discloses that during this process free bromine is liberated from brines, as by the action of gaseous chlorine, the free bromine is blown out by an air current and absorbed by a ferrous bromide solution, forming a ferric bromide solution which contains ferrous bromide, wherein of the ferric bromide is reduced to ferrous bromide which is returned to the process and used for the absorption of free bromine (col. 2, lines 53-70 of Hochwalt). If small heavy metals are present in the iron bromide, such as copper, it can further be treated with ammonium hydroxide and the metal remaining in solution is precipitated by any desired treatment. separated, as by filtration, leaving a pure ammonium bromide solution (col. 2, lines 65-90; claims 1-3, 6 and 8 of Hochwalt). Other metals may be present in the solution/brine such as calcium and magnesium (but not in aqueous solution/precipitation) (Table on page 2; page 2, lines 65 to 110; claims 9-13 of Hochwalt).
Thus, the instant claims are anticipated by Hochwalt.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOHN J FIGUEROA whose telephone number is (571)272-8916. The examiner can normally be reached on 8:30 am -6:00 pm. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, JOSEPH DEL SOLE can be reached on 571-272-1130. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JOHN J FIGUEROA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1763
July 21, 2026
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