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 § 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 3 and 16 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.
Claims 3 and 16 contain the trademark/trade name Mylar TM . Where a trademark or trade name is used in a claim as a limitation to identify or describe a particular material or product, the claim does not comply with the requirements of 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph. See Ex parte Simpson, 218 USPQ 1020 (Bd. App. 1982). The claim scope is uncertain since the trademark or trade name cannot be used properly to identify any particular material or product. A trademark or trade name is used to identify a source of goods, and not the goods themselves. Thus, a trademark or trade name does not identify or describe the goods associated with the trademark or trade name. In the present case, the trademark/trade name is used to identify/describe the material of the parting sheet and, accordingly, the identification/description is indefinite.
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.
(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.
Claim(s) 1-3 and 8-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kunieda et al. (JP-2023-13167 A, with machine translation provided by the examiner).
Regarding claim 1, Kunieda discloses (Figure 1-6) a heat and mass exchanger, comprising: a parting sheet (at plate member 11); a first bed disposed on a first side of the parting sheet and comprising an amine immobilized in sheet form (the amine containing layer 13 disposed on one side of the sheet/plate 11 as seen in figure 2); and a second bed disposed on a second side of the parting sheet opposite the first side (the amine containing layer 13 disposed on the opposite side of the sheet/plate 11 as seen in figure 2) and comprising an amine immobilized in sheet form (per paragraph 0028-0029 of the machine translation provided by the examiner).
Regarding claim 2, Kunieda discloses the claim limitations of claim 1 above and Kunieda further discloses the first and second beds each comprise a flat porous sheet into which the amine is immobilized (per paragraph 0028 describing the way the amine compound is applied to the sheet), and the parting sheet comprises a non-permeable parting sheet (the plate/sheet 11 form a gas flow path between them and ae as solid plate of a corrosion resistant material such as aluminum per paragraph 0026) against which the flat porous sheet of each of the first and second beds is pressed (as seen in figure 2).
Regarding claim 3, Kunieda discloses the claim limitations of claim 2 above and Kunieda further discloses the flat porous sheet of each of the first and second beds comprises carbon paper and the non-permeable parting sheet comprises at least one or more of aluminum (aluminum per paragraph 0026)
Regarding claim 8, Kunieda discloses (Figure 1-6) a heat and mass exchanger, comprising: a parting sheet (at plate member 11); a first bed disposed on a first side of the parting sheet and comprising a porous layer with an amine embedded therein (the amine containing layer 13 disposed on one side of the sheet/plate 11 as seen in figure 2, where the layers 13 contain amine per paragraph 0028-0029 of the machine translation provided by the examiner); and a second bed disposed on a second side of the parting sheet opposite the first side and comprising a porous layer with an amine embedded therein (the amine containing layer 13 disposed on the opposite side of the sheet/plate 11 as seen in figure 2).
Regarding claim 9, Kunieda discloses the claim limitations of claim 8 above and Kunieda further discloses the parting sheet (11) is coated with the porous layer in each of the first and second beds (as seen in figure 2 the amine containing layers are coated on each side of the plate 11).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 14-15 and 17-20 allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art of record of Kunieda et al. (JP-2023-13167 A) , Bedell (US 2014/0123850 A1) and Okano ( US 2018/0099244 A1) do not disclose a heat and mass exchanger system, comprising: a supply air conduit; a free gas conduit; a lean air conduit; a rich air conduit; a heat and mass exchanger comprising first beds and second beds, each of which comprises immobilized amine; and a switching system configured to place the heat and mass exchanger in one of: a first arrangement in which the first beds are disposed between the supply air conduit and the lean air conduit with the second beds disposed between the free gas conduit and the rich air conduit, and a second arrangement in which the second beds are disposed between the supply air conduit and the lean air conduit with the first beds disposed between the free gas conduit and the rich air conduit. While Kunieda discloses the separate beds of amine the switching system of Figure 6 is not configured in the manner claimed. Bedell (US 2014/0123850 A1) and Okano ( US 2018/0099244 A1) disclose switching systems for absorbing and desorbing but not the two separate immobilized amine beds, the cited prior art does not appear alone or in combination to disclose all of the claimed limitations of claim 14. Therefore for at least these reasons claim 14 appears to present grounds for potentially allowable subject matter. Claims 15 and 17-20 would be potentially allowable based on their dependency from claim 14.
Claim 4-7 and 10-13 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Kunieda either alone or in combination with the additionally cited prior art fails to disclose all of the claim limitations of dependent claims 4, 5, 10 and 11. Specifically the prior art fails to teach a scrim material interposed between the flat porous sheet of each of the first and second beds and the non-permeable parting sheet as required by claim 4. Kunieda fails to disclose first and second end sheets; and first and second closure bars coupled with the first and second end sheets to define an enclosure, wherein: multiple sets of the parting sheet, the first bed and the second bed are arrayed in the enclosure between the first and second end sheets, and the heat and mass exchanger further comprises flow passage screens interposed between neighboring ones of the multiple sets as required by claim 5 and similar limitations required by claim 11. Finally Kunieda fails to disclose the porous layer comprises a hydrophilic coating layer. As required by claim 10. Therefore for at least these reasons claims 4, 5, 10 and 11 present grounds for potentially allowable subject matter. Claims 6-1 and 12-13 would be potentially allowable based on their dependency from claims 5 and 11 respectively.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Sirkar (US 20160016111 A1), Okano (US 20190041072 A1) and Schütz et al. (US 20260027550 A1) disclose CO2 scrubbing systems relevant to the claimed invention.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HANS R. WEILAND whose telephone number is (571)272-9847. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 6-3 EST and alternating Fridays.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Len Tran can be reached at 571-272-1184. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/HANS R WEILAND/Examiner, Art Unit 3763 /LEN TRAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3763
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