DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. 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.
2. Claims 3, 5, 9, 18 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 18 use the phrase “e.g., rubber, wood, etc.”, “e.g., polymer-sand composite, a fiber-reinforced polymer”, and claim 9 uses the phrase “a special effect pigment (like metal flakes)” however such phrases render the claims indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitations following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2173.05(d).
Claims 3, 5, 9, and 18 also recite improper alternative expressions. The Examiner recommends either using the term “or” between the alternative members or using prior Markush language.
Appropriate correction or clarification is required.
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.
3. Claims 1-9, 11, 14, and 16-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/ 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Bailey (US 2011/0233105 A1).
Bailey discloses storage stable asphalt paving pellets (equivalent to the granule configured for use in a building product as recited in the claimed invention) that contain recycled asphalt shingle material and, optionally, RAP fines, ground tire rubber, and the like. A typical pellet includes a core (equivalent to the core as recited in the claimed invention) and an outer shell (equivalent to the coating overlying the core as recited in the claimed invention) . The core may include recycled asphalt shingle material (hence meeting the limitation that there is an asphalt-containing region disposed between the core and the coating and meeting the limitations of claims 6, 7, 11, 16, and 17) and an asphalt binder material (e.g., bitumen). The outer shell, which may include a number of different materials such as, but not limited to, mineral fines, ground plastic fines, clays, and the like, is configured to prevent the asphalt pellets from sticking to each other or to adjacent surfaces during storage. The outer shell, which may include a number of different materials, is configured to prevent the asphalt pellets from sticking to each other or to adjacent surfaces during storage. The core may include additional materials such as, but not limited to, recycled asphalt pavement (RAP), ground tire rubber, or ground plastic (e.g., ground up plastic water bottles), polystyrene butadiene rubber (SBS), styrene butadiene rubber (SBR), Fisher-Tropsch wax, soy wax, zeolites, HDPE, LDPE, EVA, PVC, or an emulsifying agent. The shell may include materials such as, but not limited to, recycled polyethylene, a water-resistant polymer, a wax, or fines (e.g., lime fines, RAP fines, or ground plastic fines). In another embodiment, a method for manufacturing a storage-stable asphalt paving pellet as illustrated above is described. The method includes (i) charging a reaction vessel with the recycled asphalt shingle material and the asphalt binder material to form a reaction mixture and (ii) reacting the recycled asphalt shingle material with the asphalt binder material in the reaction mixture in the reaction vessel at a temperature of about 350-380oF. for about 15 minutes to 1 hour (meeting the limitations of claim 20). The core 3 can be substantially an asphalt pellet as described herein, and the shell 2 can be a coating (e.g., polyvinylalcohol, polyvinylacetate, bitumen, waxes, sasol waxes, sasobit, petroleum waxes, high temperature waxes, and the like) (meeting the limitations of claims 3 and 18) that increase the durability and/or storability of the pellet 1. Alternatively, the shell 2 can be a fines shell that is prepared by passing the asphalt pellet through fines so that the fines coat and stick to the asphalt pellet core 3 to form a dry coating. Additionally, the shell 2 and core 3 can be configured to have one or more cores of asphalt compositions and/or one or more shells. This can include a single core with multiple shells or multiple cores with a single shell. In one embodiment, the outer shell 2 may include one or more constituents, such as clays, plasters, quick lime, and the like, that are capable of reacting with water to form a hard outer shell. For example, the asphalt binder and the recycled shingle material can be combined under conditions described herein, pelleted, and coated with one or more water-reactive coat materials. Water reactive outer shell materials can subsequently be reacted with liquid water or atmospheric water to form a hard, protective outer shell. A hard, protective outer shell may, for example, permit longer term storage of the resulting asphalt pellets or storage at higher temperatures. In one embodiment, the storage stable asphalt pellets may further include one or more of rock and/or mineral fines, an additional bituminous binder, a non-bituminous binder, a structural additive, a colorant, a salt, or a rheology-modifier. (meeting the limitations of claim 9) and the mixed materials (e.g., asphalt binder material, recycled shingle material, and any selected additives) can be formed into pellets in the shape of pastilles, slates, chips, briquettes, or other small forms. In some embodiments, the asphalt pellets, such as those prepared with lime (meeting the limitations of claims 4 and 5), are configured so as to protect asphalt pavement against water-induced detrimental effects, thus preventing or reducing undesirable effects that sometimes occur due to long-term exposure to the storage vessel subject to precipitation such as rain, snow, and/or ice. (See Abstract and paragraphs 0010-0014, 0028-0036, and 0046-0051).
All limitations of claims 1-9, 11, 14, and 16-20 are disclosed in the above reference.
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.
4. Claims 10, 12, 13, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bailey (US 2011/0233105 A1).
With regards to the thickness of the coating films, the shape of the film (i.e., the coating layer is discontinuous), the size of the core, and the amount of the asphalt-containing region, the Examiner would like to point out that workable physical properties are deemed to be obvious routine optimizations to one of ordinary skill in the art, motivated by the desire to obtain the required properties.
Conclusion
5. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHEEBA AHMED whose telephone number is (571)272-1504. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 7am-6pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, CALLIE SHOSHO can be reached at 571-272-1123. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SHEEBA AHMED/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1787
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