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 § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-7 and 11-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Osono, et al (JP 2008-107361 A).
Regarding claim 1, Osono discloses a radioactive waste container (100), comprising:
A radionuclide containment barrier (1) comprising: a first ferrule (8), a bottom (bottom portion of 8) and a lid (10a); said containment barrier delimiting a housing (5) for radioactive waste;
A shield (9) against gamma radiation arranged externally with respect to the containment barrier and comprising: a second ferrule (12) with external fins (17) defining gaps (Fig. 2; paragraph 0038) between them; an outer lid (10b) and an outer bottom (13); and;
A neutron shielding material (2) arranged in the gaps defined between the fins of the second ferrule;
Characterized in that the fins of the second ferrule have at their end a stop (3) for retaining the neutron shielding material in the gaps defined between said fins.
Regarding claim 2, Osono discloses wherein the containment barrier comprises an upper flange (11) and the lid has a sealing gasket (25, 29) fixed by bolts (21, 30) to said upper flange.
Regarding claim 3, Osono discloses wherein the bottom and the upper flange of the containment barrier are fixed to the first ferrule (Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 4, Osono discloses wherein the shield comprises a lower closing flange (13) and the outer lid (10b) is provided with a sealing gasket and fixing bolts (25, 29) to the upper flange (11) of the containment barrier.
Regarding claim 5, Osono discloses wherein the lower closing flange is fixed to the bottom of the containment barrier (Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 6, Osono discloses wherein the outer bottom is fixed to the lower closing flange (Fig. 14).
Regarding claim 7, Osono discloses wherein the fins have an inclination towards the same side with respect to the radial direction of the second ferrule (Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 11, Osono discloses wherein the gamma radiation shield comprises, around the second ferrule, a third ferrule (3) for retaining the neutron shielding material in the gaps defined between the fins of said second ferrule.
Regarding claim 12, Osono discloses wherein the second ferrule and the third ferrule are attached by the fins that delimit, together with said ferrules, the gaps for housing the neutron shielding material (Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 13, Osono discloses wherein the second ferrule comprises and upper portion and a lower portion embedded, one on top of the other, by means of a socket, and each portion of said second ferrule is provided with corresponding fins (Figs. 9 and 10).
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.
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Osono in view of Singh, et al (WO 2008/005932 A2).
Regarding claim 8, Osono discloses the container according to claim 1, but fails to teach wherein it laterally comprises upper and lower trunnions for gripping and transporting the container; however, providing upper and lower trunnions for gripping and transporting a radioactive waste container is well-known in the art, as demonstrated by Singh, which discloses a radioactive waste container comprising upper and lower trunnions (5) for gripping and transporting the container.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide Osono’s radioactive waste container with upper and lower trunnions for gripping and transporting the container, because doing so was a well-known method of handling radioactive waste containers.
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Osono.
Regarding claim 9, Osono discloses wherein the first and second ferrule are made from steel; although Osono does not specify whether the steel is cast or forged, these are the only two options for shaping steel; therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to try each of the finite number of combinations of cast and forged steel for the first and second ferrule, as a part of routine optimization of materials.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL P MASKELL whose telephone number is (571)270-3210. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10A-6P.
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/MICHAEL MASKELL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2878 22 August 2026
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