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 .
A response to restriction requirement was filed by the applicant on October 13, 2025.
Election/Restrictions
Claims 21-22 have been withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on October 13, 2025.
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 1-20 and 23-26 in the reply filed on October 13, 2025 is acknowledged.
Drawings
The drawings were received on September 5, 2024. These drawings are acceptable.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on March 17, 2025 and October 15, 2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
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 1-20 and 23-26 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.
The term “deep-sea” in claim 1 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “deep” is 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.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the sea floor" in lines 6-7. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the overall injection process" in line 7. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claims 2-20 and 23-26 depend from independent claim 1, and are thus also rendered indefinite.
Claims 2, 4, 18 and 20 are not disclosed in the form of a single complete sentence. All claim language disclosed after the first period “.” in each claim is considered to be indefinite.
Regarding claims 2, 5, 8, 10 and 20, the phrase "such as" renders the claims indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitations following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2173.05(d).
The term “very low capital” in claim 2 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “low” is 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.
Claim 2 recites the limitation "the port" in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 2 recites the limitation "the injection area" in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
The term “high pump pressure” in claim 4 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “high” is 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.
The term “short-term” in claim 5 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “short” is 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.
Claim 6 recites the limitation "the energy considerations" in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 7 recites the limitation "the injection operation" in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 8 recites the limitation "the injection process" in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 11 recites the limitation "the operational parameters" in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
The term “deep-sea” in claim 12 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “deep” is 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.
Claim 13 recites the limitation "the zone of injection" in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 14 recites the limitation "the injection location" in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 15 recites the limitation "the injection location" in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
The term “high-efficiency” in claim 16 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “high” is 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.
The term “similar types” in claim 17 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “similar” is 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.
On line 11 of claim 20, the phrase “(see detailed description for further embodiments)” is disclosed in parentheses, and is thus rendered indefinite. The use of parentheses in the claims is reserved for reference characters only.
On line 15 of claim 20, the phrase “(see detailed description for further elaboration)” is disclosed in parentheses, and is thus rendered indefinite.
The term “deep-sea” in claims 23-25 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “deep” is 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.
The term “large-scale” in claim 25 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “large” is 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.
Claim 26 recites the limitation "the primary medium" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Asai (US 5,293,751) discloses a method and system for throwing carbon dioxide into the deep sea.
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November 26, 2025
/LARS A OLSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3615