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 .
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group II, claims 20-26, in the reply filed on 5/4/26 is acknowledged. Claims 1-3 and 5-9 have been withdrawn for prosecution. Claims 20-26 remain in the application for prosecution thereof.
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.
Claims 20-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being clearly anticipated by Hettiarachchi “Potential Remedies to alleviate Stator Cooling Water Strainer plugging”.
Hettiarachchi “Potential Remedies to alleviate Stator Cooling Water Strainer plugging” teaches plating 304 SS (stainless steel) strainers with either Ni, Zn or Cu which should yield similar fouling inhibition (Pg. 16). Hettiarachchi “Potential Remedies to alleviate Stator Cooling Water Strainer plugging” teaches making the strainer out of these materials or plating with Monel (Ni/Cu), Brass (Zn/Cu) or Cupronickel (Cu/Ni) (pg. 17).
Regarding claims 21-23, Hettiarachchi “Potential Remedies to alleviate Stator Cooling Water Strainer plugging” teaches plating by electroless or electroplating (pg. 19).
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.
Claims 24 and 25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hettiarachchi “Potential Remedies to alleviate Stator Cooling Water Strainer plugging” as applied to claims 20-23 above, and further in view of CZ20003553.
Features detailed above concerning the teachings of Hettiarachchi “Potential Remedies to alleviate Stator Cooling Water Strainer plugging” are incorporated here.
Hettiarachchi “Potential Remedies to alleviate Stator Cooling Water Strainer plugging” fails to teach the claimed thickness of the Monel, Brass or Cupronickel.
CZ20003553 teaches method of protecting metal parts (including steel) from corrosion which includes coating the metal parts with a corrosion protection material with a thickness of 1-50 microns (claim 9).
Therefore it would have been obvious for one skilled in the art to have modified Hettiarachchi “Potential Remedies to alleviate Stator Cooling Water Strainer plugging” process to include the claimed thickness as evidenced by CZ20003553 with the expectation of providing protection of the metal surface.
Regarding claim 25 which recites coating “substantially all of he surface of the strainer”, the Examiner takes the position that when coating to prevent plugging and fouling of the strainer, one skilled in the art would be suggestive to coat “substantially” if not all of the strainer so as to provide the most complete protection thereof.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRIAN K TALBOT whose telephone number is (571)272-1428. The examiner can normally be reached Monday -Friday 7-4PM.
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, MICHAEL CLEVELAND can be reached at 571-272-1418. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/BRIAN K TALBOT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1712
Prosecution Insights