DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 04/24/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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 for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of r ejection 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 depends on may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102 of this title, 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.
Claims 1-7 are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over URANO et al. (JP2018/132293A) in view of SATOSHI (JP2020085425A).
In regards to claim 1, URANO discloses ice slurry used for refrigerating an object to be refrigerated (refer to par. 2), comprising: a mixture of a saline solution (saltwater) containing at least nitrogen nanobubbles (fine bubbles composed primarily of nitrogen gas; par. 20) from among nitrogen microbubbles (bubble size 5 μm or less; par. 21) and nitrogen nanobubbles (nitrogen gas and salt water supplied to the
second chamber 46 are mixed more uniformly; par. 37),
URANO fails to explicitly teach the ice slurry being a mixture of the saline solution and flake ice, which is the saline solution having frozen, the saline solution being isotonic or substantially isotonic with the object to be refrigerated, the ice slurry having dissolved oxygen of 1.0 mg/L or less.
URANO does however teach in paragraph 20 that since the amount of oxygen gas dissolved in the stored saltwater can be reduced, it becomes easier to dissolve nitrogen gas in the saltwater supplied to the bubble generating device, and fine bubbles composed primarily of nitrogen gas tend to be generated more stably and reliably in the saltwater (refer to par. 20). Therefore, since it possible to further reduce or control the amount of oxygen gas being dissolved in the stored salt water is recognized as result-effective variables, i.e. a variable which achieves a recognized result. In this case, the recognized result is preventing the object to be cooled from being oxidized by salt water, and tends to further maintain the freshness of the object to be cooled and makes it less likely that the objects will be damaged (paragraphs 9 and 20). Therefore, since the general conditions of the claim, i.e. further reduce or control the amount of oxygen gas being dissolved in the stored salt water and design factors involved, were disclosed in the prior art by URANO, it is not inventive to discover the optimum workable range or value by routine experimentation, and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to modify URANO, by setting the ice slurry to having dissolved oxygen of 1.0 mg/L or less.
SATOSHI teaches an ice slurry production unit (1), wherein the ice slurry being a mixture of the saline solution and flake ice, which is the saline solution having frozen, the saline solution being isotonic or substantially isotonic with the object to be refrigerated (flake ice and brine are mixed in a predetermined ratio to produce ice slurry S; par. 18).
It would also have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to modify the system of URANO such that the ice slurry being a mixture of the saline solution and flake ice, which is the saline solution having frozen, the saline solution being isotonic or substantially isotonic with the object to be refrigerated as taught by SATOSHI in order to effectively to produce ice slurry S (refer to par. 18).
In regards to claim 2, URANO meets the claim limitations as disclosed above in the rejection of claim 1. Further, URANO teaches wherein a temperature of the ice slurry is -10C or lower (refer to par. 4), (pars. 9 and 16 of SATOSHI).
In regards to claim 3, URANO discloses an ice slurry production system (a manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing slurry ice from salt water) comprising: an ice slurry production tank (a chamber 10) storing a saline solution (saltwater) isotonic or substantially isotonic with an object to be refrigerated; an ice production unit (a cooling device or freezer 20) producing flake ice that is the saline solution (saltwater) having frozen, and mixing the flake ice into the saline solution (refer to par. 3); and a nanobubble supply unit (bubble generation device 40) causing the saline solution (saltwater) to contain at least nitrogen nanobubbles from among nitrogen microbubbles and nitrogen nanobubbles using the liquid nitrogen having passed through the ice production unit. URANO fails to explicitly teach a liquid nitrogen supply source supplying the ice production unit with liquid nitrogen.
SATOSHI teaches an ice slurry production unit (1) wherein a liquid nitrogen supply source supplying the ice production unit with liquid nitrogen (cooling means supplies liquid nitrogen into the chamber; par. 3).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to modify the device of URANO such that a liquid nitrogen supply source supplying the ice production unit with liquid nitrogen as taught by SATOSHI in order to effectively lowering the temperature inside the chamber (refer to par. 7).
In regards to claim 4, URANO discloses an ice slurry production device (an apparatus for manufacturing slurry ice from salt water) comprising: an ice production unit (a cooling device or freezer 20) producing flake ice by freezing a saline solution (saltwater), which is isotonic or substantially isotonic with an object to be refrigerated and contains at least nitrogen nanobubbles from among nitrogen microbubbles (fine bubbles composed primarily of nitrogen gas; par. 20) and nitrogen nanobubbles (nitrogen gas and salt water supplied to the second chamber 46 are mixed more uniformly; par. 37), but fails to explicitly teach mixing the flake ice into the saline solution. SATOSHI teaches an ice slurry production unit (1) wherein mixing the flake ice into the saline solution (flake ice and brine are mixed in a predetermined ratio to produce ice slurry S; par. 18).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to modify the device of URANO such that mixing the flake ice into the saline solution as taught by SATOSHI in order to effectively to produce ice slurry S (refer to par. 18).
In regards to claim 5, URANO meets the claim limitations as disclosed above in the rejection of claim 4. Further, URANO teaches wherein the ice production unit (20) cools the saline solution (refer to par. 56) using cold energy of liquid nitrogen (cooling means supplies liquid nitrogen into the chamber; par. 3 of SATOSHI), the ice slurry production device comprising a nanobubble supply unit (bubble generation device 40) causing the saline solution (saltwater) to contain at least nitrogen nanobubbles (fine bubbles composed primarily of nitrogen gas; par. 20) from among nitrogen microbubbles and nitrogen nanobubbles using the liquid nitrogen having passed through the ice production unit (cooling means supplies liquid nitrogen into the chamber; par. 3 of SATOSHI).
In regards to claim 6, URANO discloses an ice slurry production method (refer to par. 46) comprising: a first step of supplying a saline solution (saltwater) with at least nitrogen nanobubbles (fine bubbles composed primarily of nitrogen gas; pars. 20 and 46) from among nitrogen microbubbles (bubble size 5 μm or less; par. 21) and nitrogen nanobubbles (nitrogen gas and salt water supplied to the second chamber 46 are mixed more uniformly; par. 37), the saline solution being isotonic or substantially isotonic (par. 53) with the object to be refrigerated, but fails to explicitly teach a second step of mixing flake ice, which is the saline solution having frozen, into the saline solution to produce ice slurry; the ice slurry having dissolved oxygen of 1.0 mg/L or less.
URANO does however teach in paragraph 20 that since the amount of oxygen gas dissolved in the stored saltwater can be reduced, it becomes easier to dissolve nitrogen gas in the saltwater supplied to the bubble generating device, and fine bubbles composed primarily of nitrogen gas tend to be generated more stably and reliably in the saltwater (refer to par. 20). Therefore, since it possible to further reduce or control the amount of oxygen gas being dissolved in the stored salt water is recognized as result-effective variables, i.e. a variable which achieves a recognized result. In this case, the recognized result is preventing the object to be cooled from being oxidized by salt water, and tends to further maintain the freshness of the object to be cooled and makes it less likely that the objects will be damaged (paragraphs 9 and 20). Therefore, since the general conditions of the claim, i.e. further reduce or control the amount of oxygen gas being dissolved in the stored salt water and design factors involved, were disclosed in the prior art by URANO, it is not inventive to discover the optimum workable range or value by routine experimentation, and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to modify URANO, by setting the ice slurry to having dissolved oxygen of 1.0 mg/L or less.
SATOSHI further teaches an ice slurry production unit (1) wherein a second step of mixing flake ice, which is the saline solution having frozen, into the saline solution to produce ice slurry (flake ice and brine are mixed in a predetermined ratio to produce ice slurry S; par. 18).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to modify the method of URANO such that a second step of mixing flake ice, which is the saline solution having frozen, into the saline solution to produce ice slurry as taught by SATOSHI in order to effectively to produce ice slurry S (refer to par. 18).
In regards to claim 7, URANO discloses an ice slurry production method (refer to par. 46) comprising: a first step of supplying an ice production unit (a cooling device or freezer 20); a second step of producing flake ice (ice particles; par. 13) by freezing a saline solution isotonic or substantially isotonic with an object to be refrigerated, the second step being performed by the ice production unit (20); and a third step of supplying the saline solution (saltwater) with at least nitrogen nanobubbles from among nitrogen microbubbles (bubble size 5 μm or less; par. 21) and nitrogen nanobubbles (fine bubbles composed primarily of nitrogen gas; par. 20) using the liquid nitrogen having passed through the ice production unit, but fails to explicitly teach the first step of supplying an ice production unit with supplying the ice production unit with liquid nitrogen; and mixing the flake ice into the saline solution
SATOSHI teaches the first step of supplying an ice production unit with supplying the ice production unit with liquid nitrogen (cooling means supplies liquid nitrogen into the chamber; par. 3); and mixing the flake ice into the saline solution (flake ice and brine are mixed in a predetermined ratio to produce ice slurry S; par. 18).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to modify the device of URANO such that the first step of supplying an ice production unit with supplying the ice production unit with liquid nitrogen, and mixing the flake ice into the saline solution as taught by SATOSHI in order to effectively to produce ice slurry S (refer to par. 18).
Conclusion
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/M.T/
Examiner, Art Unit 3763
/FRANTZ F JULES/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3763