DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. 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 § 112
2. 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.
3. Claims 4-6 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.
Regarding claim 4, in lines 12-13, the phrase “ without a megnetic (sic) field which dress the central tube” renders the claim indefinite. The language is unclear and the scope of the claim cannot be adequately determined. For example, it is not clear what is mean by “dress the central tube”.
Regarding claim 6, the term “optimized” is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “optimized” 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.
Dependent claim 5 is also rejected for at least the reasons applied to claim 4 above, by virtue of claim dependency.
Allowable Subject Matter
4. Claims 4-6 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the prior art, alone or in combination, fails to teach or fairly suggest a device for reducing viscosity and dissolving incrustations in pipelines as recited in independent claim 4.
The closest prior art to the claimed invention is Borst et al. (US 2006/0048941 A1) (hereafter “Borst”) Borst discloses (see para [0041]-[0045]; figure 1) a device (10) comprising a central tube (20), the central tube (20) comprising two ends and one or more external threads (see figure 1 – external threads at bottom) at the two ends of the central tube for coupling; a conical reduction (40); and a protective jacket (51) covering a magnetic collar.
However, there is no teaching or suggestion of the central tube that is fixed to an orifice of the conical reduction by one or more weld fillits, the conical reduction comprising one or more permanent magnet collars, the one or more permanent magnet collars is made of neodymium boron iron or strontium ferrite, the protective jacket is fixed to the conical reduction via a hole fully penetrating the one or more weld fillits, and the one or more spacer rings made of non-magentic metal, without a megnetic field which dress the central tube, are positioned juxtaposed to the one or more permanent magnet collars so that the ends of the one or more spacer rings are fixed to the central tube to preserve the location of the one or more spacer rings.
Conclusion
5. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SEAN E CONLEY whose telephone number is (571)272-8414. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F, 8:30am-4pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Mike Marcheschi can be reached on 571-272-1374. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SEAN E CONLEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1799
