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 .
The present application is a 371 of PCT/EP2023/059540 filed on April 12, 2023.
A preliminary amendment was filed by the applicant on October 11, 2024.
Drawings
The drawings were received on October 11, 2024. These drawings are acceptable.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on October 11, 2024 and December 24, 2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-6, 17-18 and 21-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Matsch et al. (US 3,108,706).
Matsch et al. discloses the same wall for a sealed and thermally insulating tank for storing a liquefied gas as claimed, as shown in Figure 1, which is comprised of an outer wall or sealing barrier, defined as Part #14, a thermally insulating space or barrier, defined as Part #16, and an inner wall or sealing barrier, defined as Part #12, where said thermally insulating space or barrier has a gaseous phase at an absolute pressure of 1 to 10 microns of Hg (10 microns of Hg = 1.33 Pa), as described in lines 19-27 of column 11. Said thermally insulating space or barrier is further comprised of at least one multi-layer insulating covering made from a plurality of metal or metal coated plastic sheets, each defined as Part #18, as described in lines 46-57 of column 10, that are separated from each other by a sheet of low-conductive porous fiber in the form of glass wool or fiberglass, defined as Part #17, as described in lines 40-44 of column 10. A sheet of low-conductive porous fiber is also positioned between said multilayer insulating covering and said outer wall or sealing barrier, as shown in Figure 1. Said inner wall or sealing barrier is configured to be in contact with a liquefied gas, defined as Part L, that is contained in said tank, as shown in Figure 1. Said inner and outer walls or sealing barriers are self-supporting, as shown in Figure 1, and are connected to one another by said multi-layer insulating covering.
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.
Claims 23-25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Matsch et al. in view of Boyeau et al. (US 9,677,711).
Matsch et al. discloses all of the features claimed except for the use of a ship with an insulated tank for transporting a liquefied gas, and insulated pipes for channeling said liquefied gas to or from a storage facility.
Boyeau et al. discloses a gas carrier ship, as shown in Figure 9, where said ship, defined as Part #70, is configured with a sealed and thermally insulating tank, defined as Part #71, for transporting a liquefied gas, a double hull, defined as Part #72, and insulated loading/unloading pipes, defined as Part #73, for channeling said liquefied gas to or from an onshore storage installation, defined as Part #77.
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to one of ordinary skill in the art, to utilize a ship with a tank for transporting a liquefied gas and insulated pipes for channeling said liquefied gas to or from an onshore storage installation, as taught by Boyeau et al., in combination with the wall for a sealed and thermally insulating tank for storing a liquefied gas as disclosed by Matsch et al. for the purpose of providing a sealed and thermally insulating tank with transport means and means to channel a liquefied gas to or from said tank.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7-16 and 19-20 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LARS A OLSON whose telephone number is (571) 272-6685. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday 8:00am - 4:00pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, MARC JIMENEZ can be reached at 571-272-4530. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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July 27, 2026
/LARS A OLSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3615B
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