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
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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 (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 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.
Claim(s) 1-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chinese patent CN 213179026 (U) (from the July 3, 2024 IDS, hereinafter “CN ‘026”) in view of US 2018/0340745 to Rauch et al (hereinafter “Rauch”) and further in view of US 2019/0076898 to Zelle et al (hereinafter “Zelle”).
CN ‘026 discloses a cooling system for a powder with a horizontally arranged conveying mechanism and a temperature sensor connected to a control system which ensures that the powder at the outlet is cooled to the desired temperature by the associated water cooling jacket on the outer wall of the conveying pipeline (see the abstract). While the claimed, “dust discharged from a dust cyclone of a decoating system” is seen as intended use which does not impart structure to the claim, Rauch explicitly discloses a cooled conveyor associated with the dust cyclone of a decoating machine. Paragraph 4 of Rauch states, “Because this dust contains a high concentration of organic compounds and other combustibles such as metallic powder and is at an elevated temperature (due to the decoating process), the dust is susceptible to combustion and the creation of dust fires when it is discharged from the decoating process.” Zelle teaches a cooling conveyor with figure 5 showing an array of temperature sensors including one at the inlet of the cooling conveyor. Paragraph 24 states, “The control system 24 receives input signals from a number of pyrometers/thermal imagers 36 at various points on the conveyor system 32 from such locations as the reform tub 26 to the laying head 30. The control system 24 uses the information from the pyrometers 36 in an feedback arrangement so as to control the cooling rate of the conveyor system 32”. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to modify the temperature controlled dust cooling system of CN ‘026 by cooling the dust in a dust cyclone of a decoating system as taught by Rauch to improve the safety of the decoating process and to use sensors to measure a characteristic of material entering the cooling conveyor as taught by Zelle to optimize the cooling rate for best results.
In regard to claims 2 and 3 paragraph 38 of Rauch teaches a processing temperature of 80 degrees C.
In regard to claims 4 and 5, CN ‘026 teaches controlling the conveyor speed in regard to the sensed temperature of the conveyed material being cooled. The Korean search report submitted January 6, 2026 relies on the same Chinese reference and states it “discloses that a conveying motor 33 is connected to one end of a conveying shaft 31 of a conveying mechanism 30, and that the cooling rate of the powder is controlled by controlling the transmission speed of the motor (see paragraphs [0014] and [0018-[0019] and Fig. 1).”
In regard to claim 6, paragraph 61 of Rauch teaches injecting a coolant material into the dust of the cooled conveyor. Controlling the cooling rate is taught by CN ‘026.
In regard to claims 7 and 8, CN ‘026 teaches a control system and a temperature sensor associated therewith to control cooling rate.
In regard to claim 9, Zelle teaches a cooling conveyor with figure 5 showing an array of temperature sensors including one at the inlet of the cooling conveyor. Paragraph 24 states, “The control system 24 receives input signals from a number of pyrometers/thermal imagers 36 at various points on the conveyor system 32 from such locations as the reform tub 26 to the laying head 30. The control system 24 uses the information from the pyrometers 36 in an feedback arrangement so as to control the cooling rate of the conveyor system 32”. As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of applicant’s filing to modify the cooling system of CN ‘026 as modified by Rauch by using an upstream temperature sensor to control the cooling rate to optimize the cooling of the material being conveyed.
In regard to claim 10, Zelle shows sensors (in figure 5) between the inlet and outlet of the conveyor.
In regard to claim 11, Zelle’s side coolant outlets on the sides of the conveyor dispense a minimum amount of coolant while the central outlets are controlled in response to the temperature sensed as the material passes through the conveyor.
In regard to claim 12, paragraph 24 of Zelle states that the cooling rate is controlled by controlling a characteristic (the amount of air flow) of the coolant directly contacting the material to be cooled.
In regard to claim 13, Rauch’s abstract states, “The dust cyclone is configured to receive an exhaust gas from a decoating kiln, filter organic particulate matter from the exhaust gas as dust, and discharge the dust at a discharge temperature.”
In regard to claim 14, CN ‘026 discloses a cooling method for a powder with a horizontally arranged conveying mechanism and a temperature sensor connected to a control system which ensures that the powder at the outlet is cooled to the desired temperature by the associated water cooling jacket on the outer wall of the conveying pipeline (see the abstract). Zelle teaches a temperature sensor at the outlet of the previous piece of equipment to determine a characteristic of the material to be cooled to optimize the cooling rate. While the claimed, “dust discharged from a dust cyclone of a decoating system” is seen as intended use which does not impart structure to the claim, Rauch explicitly discloses a cooled conveyor associated with the dust cyclone of a decoating machine. Paragraph 4 of Rauch states, “Because this dust contains a high concentration of organic compounds and other combustibles such as metallic powder and is at an elevated temperature (due to the decoating process), the dust is susceptible to combustion and the creation of dust fires when it is discharged from the decoating process.” It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to modify the temperature controlled dust cooling system of CN ‘026 by cooling the dust in a dust cyclone of a decoating system to improve the safety of the decoating process and to use sensors to measure a characteristic of material entering the cooling conveyor to optimize the cooling rate for best results as taught by Zelle.
In regard to claim 15, both Zelle and CN ‘026 measure the temperature of the material being cooled.
In regard to claim 16, Zelle teaches adjusting the cooling rate by controlling the flow rate of a coolant dispensed by a coolant dispenser to the cooling conveyor.
In regard to claim 17, CN ‘026 discloses a water cooled wall for the conveyor to cool the dust being conveyed. CN ‘026 further states that the temperature of the coolant is controlled to prevent caking of the dust being conveyed. Water cooling system 21 cools the water uses to cool the dust passing through the conveyor. Figure 3 of Rauch discloses a conveyor screw with coolant passages therein to cool the dust being conveyed. CN’026 is seen to teach measuring a characteristic of the coolant (the temperature) to reduce caking of the dust. Zelle teaches sensors to optimize the cooling rate. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of applicant’s filing to use the multiple sensor control system of Zelle to control the cooling of material from a dust cyclone of a decoating system of Rauch passing through a cooled conveyor with means to control the cooling rate by controlling a characteristic of the coolant as taught by CN ‘026.
In regard to claim 18, Zelle is seen to teach detecting temperatures at the inlet and outlet to optimize cooling rates.
In regard to claim 19, Zelle teaches adjusting the cooling rate by controlling the flow rate of a coolant dispensed by a coolant dispenser to the cooling conveyor. CN ‘026 teaches controlling the temperature of the coolant.
Claim(s) 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN ‘026 in view of Rauch and Zelle as applied to claim1-19 above, and further in view of CN 205914786 U.(hereinafter “CN ‘786”).
As detailed above, CN ‘026 in view of Rauch and Zelle renders claim 1-19 obvious. Claim 20 depends from claim 17 and adds a dust weighing system to receive the collected dust, measure a characteristic and generate an alarm if the characteristic is outside a predetermined threshold. CN ‘786 shows a device with a dust collecting box 17 with a full sensor 18. When the full sensor determines that a characteristic of the dust in the dust collecting bin exceeds a threshold, a third alarm 27 is triggered. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of applicant’s invention from the teaching of CN ‘786 to modify the dust cooling system of CN ‘026 by adding a dust collecting bin with means to determine a characteristic of the bin and activate an alarm when the characteristic exceeds a threshold to ensure proper functioning of the device which improves efficiency and safety.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. CN 106439885 A discloses a system with a dust collector with sensors for pressure, temperature and CO content and an alarm to alert the user when a threshold is exceeded.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WILLIAM C DOERRLER whose telephone number is (571)272-4807. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 7-5.
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/WILLIAM C DOERRLER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3993
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