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 .
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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claims 1-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rohde et al. 20210147960 taken with Othmer 3250081.
Rhode teaches, especially in para 1 and the example, heating metal waste, treating with a weak acid solution, treating in strong acid, adjusting pH to 2.5-8 and removing metals. This does not teach the initial preparation of the weak acid, however Othmer teaches, especially in the figures and col. 24-26, freezing a solution of acetic acid to concentrate it. Using it in the process of Rhode is obvious to provide the solution required.
For claim 2, Rhode para 44 teaches contact for 1-3 hours.
For claims 3 and 16, the pH is adjusted after that time.
For claim 4, raising pH is taught in Rhode para 70. NaOH isa taught in para 71.
For claims 5 and 6, the temperature can be increased up to 100C; see Rhode para 43. The overlap renders the claim obvious.
For claims 7 and 17, Rhode para 42 teaches acetic acid.
For claims 8, 18 and 19, See Othmer col. 1, which suggests distillery residue.
For claims 9-10, Rhode para 11 teaches Li from batteries.
For claim 11, Rhode para 31 teaches all the metals recited.
For claim 12, Rhode para 49 teaches filtration.
For claim 13, the weak acid solution may contain CO2; see para 42.
For claims 7 and 17, Rhode para 42 teaches acetic acid.
For claim 14, Rhode para 63 teaches a reductant, and para 67 suggests using it in step b.
For claim 15, joining the separate reactors together is obvious to create an efficient system for running the reaction.
Oetzel 20220056276 paras 52-56 are noted.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to STUART L HENDRICKSON whose telephone number is (571)272-1351. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday from 9 to 5. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Anthony Zimmer, can be reached on 571-270-3591. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://portal.uspto.gov/external/portal. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free).
/STUART L HENDRICKSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1736
