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 .
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
On page 13, line 24, delete “22”, and insert --51--.
Appropriate correction is required.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they do not include the following reference sign(s) mentioned in the description: Reference sign “5”, first referenced in the specification on page 13, line 2. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Claims 18, 21, 24, 26 and 28 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 18 recites the limitation "the line outlet section" in line 7. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim 18 may be amended to depend from claim 17 to overcome this rejections.
Claim 21 recites width measurements of DN15 and DN150. However, the claim does not define the units of DN (e.g. whether the width value is in millimeters or inches). The claim should clarify the units of the width.
Claim 24 recites the limitation "the first electrode” and the second electrode" in line 4, and “the first antenna” and “the second antenna” in line 6. There is insufficient antecedent basis for these limitations in the claim.
Regarding claim 26, the phrase "in particular" renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitation(s) following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2173.05(d).
Claim 28 recites the limitation "the line outlet section" in 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 16, 17, 19, 20, 22, 23, 25, 27 and 29 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The primary reason for indicating allowable subject matter in claims 16, 17, 19, 20, 22, 23, 25,2 7 and 29 is because the cited prior art does not teach a system or a method for identifying the presence of a foreign body in a flowable medium in a pipeline that includes a first transmitting/receiving unit in the line inlet section, which is configured to introduce transmitted signals into a medium flowing in the line inlet section and to receive received signals, a second transmitting/receiving unit in the choke section, which is configured to introduce transmitted signals into a medium flowing in the choke section and to receive received signals, and at least one superordinate unit, which is designed to ascertain a mean permittivity of the medium1) in the line inlet section and the choke section from the corresponding received signals, and to determine the presence of a foreign body in the medium on the basis of at least one comparison of the mean permittivity (epsilon_m,3) in the choke section with the mean permittivity (epsilon_m,1) in the line inlet section. US Patent Application Publication 2016/0054161 to Abou Khousa et al. teaches detecting contaminants in pressurized fluid flows including a two transmitters and receivers (Fig. 1, transmitter 113, receiving antenna 118; Fig. 1, N-channel transmitter receiver modules; pars.30, 41, 42), and determining permittivity (par. 29). However, Abou Khousa does not teach a first transmitting/receiving unit located in a line inlet section and a second transmitting/receiving unit located in a choke section and determining the presence of a foreign body based on a comparison of a mean permittivity in the choke section with a mean permittivity in the line inlet section.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US Patent Application Publication 2015/0316402 to Wee et al. teaches flow measurements in the presence of pipe-wall deposits.
US Patent Application Publication 2008/0319685 to Xie et al. teaches measuring flow in a pipe with a throat section.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MANUEL L BARBEE whose telephone number is (571)272-2212. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 9-5:30..
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/MANUEL L BARBEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2857
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