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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because
the claimed invention is directed to a law of nature without significantly more. The claims recite several equations which are a law of nature and mathematical concepts that describe how the inclusion composition changes. This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because the claims do not recite how to use the calculation results to control entrained slag inclusions. The claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because the recited limitations do not provide an improvement in reducing entrained slag inclusions.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-4 also rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, first paragraph. Specifically, because the claimed invention is not supported by either a credible asserted utility or a well-established utility because claim 1 only recites a few equations without reciting how to process entrained slag inclusions using the calculated results, one skilled in the art clearly would not know how to use the claimed invention.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-5 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.
Claims 1-5 recite a method for processing entrained slag inclusions in steel with deoxidized calcium with fixed aluminum in line 1-2. One of ordinary skill in the art would not understand the meaning of “deoxidized calcium with fixed aluminum”, and how to use the “deoxidized calcium” and “fixed aluminum” to process the entrained slag inclusion. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 1 recites Equation “a denotes an activity and * represents an interface” in line 18-19. However, the meaning of “activity” is unclear. For example, it’s unclear the “activity” is used to characterize what property of the elements and molecules. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 1 recites fM, e and r in line 23-26. One of ordinary skill in the art would not understand how fM, e and r are determined for different elements and molecules. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 1 recites [j] and [k] denotes mass fraction of a j-th component and a k-th component of the molten steel in line 27-28. It’s unclear which element is the j-th element and which element is the k-th element and what property Equation (4) is used to characterize. Appropriate correction is required.
The terms “simple compounds” and “complex compounds” in claim 1 (line 37-38) are relative terms which render the claim indefinite. The terms “simple compounds” and “complex compounds” in claim 1 (line 37-38) are not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 1 recites density unit of kg/m3 in line 45-46. Please express the density as “kg/m3”.
Claim 1 recites “kM” and “kMxOy” are mass transfer coefficient in line 46-47. However, claim 1 does not recite how “kM” and “kMxOy” are determined in molten steel. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 1 recites “time step” in line 63. Please define what a “time step” is. Appropriate correction is required.
Claims 2 and 5 recite CaO index, Al2O3 index, MgO index and La2O3 index. However, the meaning of CaO index, Al2O3 index, MgO index and La2O3 index are not defined and one of ordinary skill in the art would not understand how these indices are determined. Appropriate correction is required.
Conclusion
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/XIAOWEI SU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1733
