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
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)(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 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent 6,244,053 to Gulati et al. (Gulati).
In reference to claim 1, Gulati teaches a transfer system (FIG. 3-5) for transferring temperature sensitive fluids (col 1, lines 12-21) from a supply tank (41, FIG. 3-4) to a receiver tank (42, FIG. 3-4), wherein the supply tank (41, FIG. 3-4) and the receiver tank (42, FIG. 3-4) are fluidly connected by a piping arrangement (col 6, lines 10-23), said piping arrangement comprising at least two thermally insulated transfer lines (43 and 44, FIG. 3-4); and first and second piping assemblies (inherent in the structure of FIG. 3-4; said lines comprise couplings, valves and sealants) associated with the receiver and the supply tank (41, FIG. 3-4), respectively, wherein one end of each transfer line (43 and 44, FIG. 3-4) is connected with one of the supply (41, FIG. 3-4) and receiver tank and the other end of each transfer line is provided with a coupling (52, FIG. 3-4) for coupling the other end with the other one of the supply (41, FIG. 3-4) and receiver tank (42, FIG. 3-4), wherein the transfer system is selectively operable in a transfer mode (FIG. 3) and an idle mode (FIG. 4) by appropriately coupling and decoupling the first and second transfer lines (43 and 44, FIG. 3-4), wherein, in the transfer mode (FIG. 3), the first and the second transfer lines (42, FIG. 3-4) fluidly connect the supply tank (41, FIG. 3-4) with the receiver tank (42, FIG. 3-4), such that fluid flows through the first and second transfer lines (42, FIG. 3-4) and the first and second pipe assemblies, and in that, in the idle mode (FIG. 4), the first and second transfer lines (42, FIG. 3-4) form a closed loop enabling a continuous flow of fluid through the first and second transfer lines (42, FIG. 3-4), and in that the first and the second pipe assemblies are part of the closed loop enabling a continuous flow of fluid through the first and the second pipe assemblies (col 3, lines 22-53).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gulati over WO 2016/051768 to Unno et al. (Unno).
In reference to claim 2, Gulati teaches the transfer system according to claim 1, but does not explicitly teach wherein the first pipe assembly conducts a liquid phase of the fluid, and the second pipe assembly conducts a gaseous phase of the fluid. Unno teaches a liquefied hydrogen transport system (FIG. 1-4) wherein the first pipe assembly conducts a liquid phase of the fluid, and the second pipe assembly conducts a gaseous phase of the fluid. Unno teaches a liquefied hydrogen transport system (FIG. 1) wherein the first pipe assembly conducts a liquid phase of the fluid (4, FIG. 1), and the second pipe assembly conducts a gaseous phase of the fluid (5, FIG. 1) in order to prevent the mixing and subsequently formation of a two-phase LNG which damages the equipment.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Gulati, to have the first pipe assembly conduct a liquid phase of the fluid and the second pipe assembly conduct a gaseous phase of the fluid, as taught by Unno, in order to prevent the mixing and subsequently formation of a two-phase LNG which damages the equipment.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-7 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
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
See attached PTO-892 for relevant prior art.
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/FILIP ZEC/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763
7/25/2026
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