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 .
This communication is in response to the election filed 5/11/2026.
Claims 1-17, 19, and 21 are pending. Claims 14-17, 19, and 21 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b).
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of Group I in the reply filed on 5/11/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that the art cited does not teach the claim special technical feature and there would be no burden. This is not found persuasive because there were no arguments presented in support of the art not teaching claimed technical feature; and with respect to the burden, three groups are presented claiming a device, process and use which require different claim limitations, search strategies, and classes and claim language.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC §§ 102-103
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 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
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) 1-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a) as being anticipated by Powers (US 2005/0010075).
Claim(s) 5-7 and 11-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Powers (US 2005/0010075).
With respect to claim 1, Powers id directed to cracking reaction device. The device includes a preheating section [0013], a lightening section (mild thermal cracking [0013]), a reduced-pressure gasification section and a cracking section that are connected sequentially (feed flows through heater, vapor removed and liquid continues to lightening section, the reduced pressure gasification section, and then severe cracking, Figure and [0013]).
With respect to claim 2, the lightening section includes a container that holds liquid and effects mild cracking. Figure; [0035].
With respect to claim 3, at least the preheating is accomplished in the convection section of a pyrolysis furnace [0006], which includes a heat exchanger; and the reduced-pressure gasification section includes a reduced-pressure gasification container 4, and/or the cracking section includes a cracker.
With respect to claim 4, outside the cavitation device, the entire unit can be physically contained within the interior of convection zone 2 downstream of the preheating tubes or coils (not shown) so that the mild cracking section 3 of this invention is wholly within the interior of a furnace that contains both convection section 2 and radiant section 6. The cavitation device is outside the furnace but still in fluid communication and the disclosed patented device is in the shape of a tube. The downstream severe cracking occurs in tubes in the radiant section of the furnace. Thus, it appears the cracking zone from preheating through the radiant cracking takes place in a series of tubes.
With respect to claim 5, “an oil quench of the furnace effluent after heat exchange of same in, for example, a transfer-line exchanger is present after severed cracking. [0030]
With respect to claims 5 and 11, the art fails to disclose pumps upstream of the process. However, it is well known to provide required system pressure through a pump. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of fling to utilize a pump to deliver the feedstream to and through the system.
With respect to claim 6, pressure reducing means will be located between zone 1 mild cracking and zone 2 vapor outlet. Figure.
With respect to claim 7, the preheating temperature is positioned at the top of the convection section where there is less heat, the mild cracking in the middle, and the cracking in the radiant section. Thus the temperature profile will increase in direction of flow.
With respect to claim 12, the art is silent regarding wherein the volume ratio of the preheating section, the lightening section, the reduced-pressure gasification section and the cracking section is 0.1-10:0.1-1000:0.1-10:1. The volume of each of the zones will depend on the feed properties, equipment types and properties selected.
With respect to claim 13, Powers teaches or renders obvious the limitations of claims 1, 5, 6, 8, and 9. Powers is silent regarding wherein each section of the apparatus is equipped with a temperature control means. However, each section is designed to operate at a given temperature. Before the filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to include a temperature control on the apparatus of Powers to maintain the temperature to remain in the desired range for optimum performance and safety.
Claim(s) 8-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Powers (US 2005/0010075) as applied to claims 1-7, further in view of Lee (US 2018/0045467).
With respect to claims 8-9, Powers teaches wherein the preheating occurs in tubes, but is silent regarding wherein the preheating section is a double-layer tube or a tube with more than two layers; helical protrusions on the inner, outer or intermediate layers;
A double layer tube exchanger with helical protrusions (figure) is known in the art as shown Lee (US 2018/0045467). Lee is discloses “a conventional double pipe heat exchanger produced in such a structure, by the helical groove 14 formed at an outer circumferential surface of the inner pipe 10, a portion protruded between the helical grooves 14 contacts an inner circumferential surface of the outer pipe 20”. [0007] Therefore, before the filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to select as the tube exchanger in Powers the double layer exchanger as taught in Lee because Powers Lee teaches preheating may occur in the convection section in a tube but is silent regarding the details of the exchanger and Lee teaches a tube exchanger.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Brandi Doyle whose telephone number is (571)270-1141. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Prem Singh can be reached at (571)272-6381. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BRANDI M DOYLE/Examiner, Art Unit 1771
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