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, 3-4, and 6-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by DE 4220157 (herein Millauer).
A machine translation of Millauer was provided with a previous office action, and is relied upon herein.
Millauer teaches:
limitations from claim 1, a positive displacement pump for conveying material to be conveyed (FIG. 1-3; paragraph 20 wherein the pump 9 is embodied as a screw or piston pump), comprising a measuring assembly with at least one measuring channel (seen in FIG. 1 as the slot between plates 4-5; seen in FIG. 2-3 as capillaries 11-12 and 17-19), through which at least a portion of the material to be conveyed, which is conveyed by the pump, can flow (paragraphs 17-19), wherein the at least one measuring channel has a non-circular cross section including at least one straight section (paragraph 9 in which the shape is a rectangle) and the measuring assembly has a pressure sensor assembly for detecting pressures (sensors 7 in FIG. 1; sensors 13-16 in FIG. 2; and sensors 113, 114, 213, 214, 313, 314 in FIG. 3), which act at positions, which are spaced apart in the flow-through direction of the at least one measuring channel (see FIG. 1-3; paragraphs 10, 17-19), when the at least one portion of the material to be conveyed, which is conveyed by the pump, flows through the at least one measuring channel (paragraphs 7, 17-29); wherein the pressure sensor assembly is configured to detect a pressure acting from an interior of the at least one measuring channel on a sensor surface (paragraphs 10, 17-19), wherein the sensor surface forms one of the at least one straight section of the cross section and extends over a portion of the length of the at least one measuring channel in the flow-through direction thereof (see annotated FIG. 3 below);
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limitations from claim 3, wherein the cross section is polygonal (paragraph 9 in which the shape is a rectangle);
limitations from claim 4, wherein the cross section is rectangular and each of the four sides of the rectangular cross section corresponds to one of the at least one straight section (paragraph 9 in which the shape is a rectangle);
limitations from claim 6, wherein the cross section has a height, which is smaller than the width thereof and wherein the sensor surface runs in the width direction of the cross section (this can be seen from FIG. 1 and paragraph 17 for example in which the width is longer than the height of the slot; paragraph 9 further teaches a rectangular shape which necessarily has a smaller height than width);
limitations from claim 7, wherein the at least one measuring channel comprises several measuring channels, through which at least a portion of the material to be conveyed, which is conveyed by the pump (see FIG. 2-3; channels 11-12, 17-19), can flow in each case, wherein the measuring channels differ in their cross sections (paragraph 7 for example);
limitations from claim 8, wherein the measuring channels are fluidically connected in parallel (FIG. 3) and the measuring assembly comprises a component, in which each of the measuring channels is formed (FIG. 3 shows channels 17-19 formed in a component attached to the pump 9);
limitations from claim 9, wherein the flow-through directions of the measuring channels run parallel to one another (FIG. 3) or/and width directions of the cross sections of the measuring channels run obliquely to one another (paragraph 20);
limitations from claim 10, a pump system, comprising a positive displacement pump for conveying material to be conveyed (FIG. 1-3; paragraph 20 wherein the pump 9 is embodied as a piston pump), comprising a measuring assembly with at least one measuring channel (seen in FIG. 1 as the slot between plates 4-5; seen in FIG. 2-3 as capillaries 11-12 and 17-19), through which at least a portion of the material to be conveyed, which is conveyed by the pump, can flow (paragraphs 17-19), wherein the at least one measuring channel has a non-circular cross section (paragraphs 8-9) and the measuring assembly has a pressure sensor assembly for detecting pressures (sensors 7 in FIG. 1; sensors 13-16 in FIG. 2; and sensors 113, 114, 213, 214, 313, 314 in FIG. 3), which act at positions, which are spaced apart in the flow-through direction of the at least one measuring channel (see FIG. 1-3; paragraphs 10, 17-19), when the at least one portion of the material to be conveyed, which is conveyed by the pump, flows through the at least one measuring channel (paragraphs 7, 17-29); and a control unit, which is configured to determine a viscosity of the conveyed material to be conveyed or/and a conveying speed of the positive displacement pump, based on the pressures detected by the pressure sensor assembly (see paragraph 11 – “A device…used both for determining viscosity curves…and for controlling the material consistency…”; a device for controlling meets the limitation requiring a “control unit”); wherein the pressure sensor assembly is configured to detect a pressure acting from an interior of the at least one measuring channel on a sensor surface (paragraphs 10, 17-19), wherein the sensor surface forms one of the at least one straight section of the cross section and extends over a portion of the length of the at least one measuring channel in the flow-through direction thereof (see annotated FIG. 3 below);
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limitations from claim 11, wherein the control unit (“Device…for controlling”) is configured to determine the conveying speed of the positive displacement pump based on a pump speed of the positive displacement pump (paragraph 11 – “system parameters, such as the screw speed”) or/and a pump control signal for the positive displacement pump, and in particular based on an already known pump characteristic curve of the positive displacement pump, and to determine the viscosity of the conveyed material to be conveyed based on the conveying speed determined in this way and the pressures detected by the pressure sensor assembly (paragraphs 3-4, 6 and 10-11);
limitations from claim 12, wherein the control unit is further configured for carrying out one or several of the following steps: outputting a value of the determined conveying speed or/and of a value of the determined viscosity; detecting a wear of the positive displacement pump on the basis of the determined conveying speed or/and viscosity; detecting a slip of the positive displacement pump on the basis of the determined conveying speed or/and viscosity; controlling the positive displacement pump on the basis of the determined conveying speed or/and viscosity (paragraph 11); controlling a viscosity adaptation device on the basis of the determined conveying speed or/and viscosity, in order to adapt the viscosity of the conveyed material to be conveyed; controlling a processing plant, which processes the conveyed material to be conveyed, on the basis of the determined conveying speed or/and viscosity.
limitations from claim 13, wherein the cross section is rectangular and each of the four sides of the rectangular cross section corresponds to one of the at least one straight section (paragraph 9 in which the shape is a rectangle);
limitations from claim 14, wherein the pressure sensor assembly is configured to detect a pressure acting from an interior of the at least one measuring channel on a sensor surface (paragraphs 10, 17-19), wherein the sensor surface forms one of the at least one straight section of the cross section and extends over a portion of the length of the at least one measuring channel in the flow-through direction thereof (see annotated FIG. below);
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limitations from claim 15, wherein the at least one measuring channel comprises several measuring channels, through which at least a portion of the material to be conveyed, which is conveyed by the pump (see FIG. 2-3; channels 11-12, 17-19), can flow in each case, wherein the measuring channels differ in their cross sections (paragraph 7 for example);
limitations from claim 16, wherein the flow-through directions of the measuring channels run parallel to one another (FIG. 3) or/and width directions of the cross sections of the measuring channels run obliquely to one another (paragraph 20);
limitations from claim 17, wherein the control unit is further configured for carrying out one or several of the following steps: outputting a value of the determined conveying speed or/and of a value of the determined viscosity; detecting a wear of the positive displacement pump on the basis of the determined conveying speed or/and viscosity; detecting a slip of the positive displacement pump on the basis of the determined conveying speed or/and viscosity; controlling the positive displacement pump on the basis of the determined conveying speed or/and viscosity (paragraph 11); controlling a viscosity adaptation device on the basis of the determined conveying speed or/and viscosity, in order to adapt the viscosity of the conveyed material to be conveyed; controlling a processing plant, which processes the conveyed material to be conveyed, on the basis of the determined conveying speed or/and viscosity.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 04/30/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant has amended the claims to include limitations from claims 2 and 5. Applicant argues that Millauer does not teach these limitations.
Applicant argues that the sensors of Millauer are discrete localized measurement points, not sensor surfaces that form part of the channel wall cross-section and extend longitudinally along a portion of the channel length; the examiner disagrees. The examiner maintains that FIG. 3 shows sensors (313, 314) along conduit (19) such that a surface of the sensors form part of the wall. In FIG. 3, the sensors are positioned such that at least a bottom of the sensors forms part of the fluid channel within conduit (19), and therefore forms at least part of the straight section of the channel. If the sensors were removed from the channel, the opening left by the sensor void would allow fluid to flow therefrom, therefor the examiner maintains that the sensor surface forms at least part of the channel.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTOPHER S BOBISH whose telephone number is (571)270-5289. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 9-5.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Essama Omgba can be reached at 469-295-9278. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CHRISTOPHER S BOBISH/Examiner, Art Unit 3746
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