DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-6 are pending and under consideration in this 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 Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: certain portions of the claim are underlined. For example, the semicolon at the end of step i), and spaces in steps e) and f). As no amendments have previously been made to claim 1, there should be no markup of the claims. Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-6 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.
Regarding claim 1, the claim recites the term “regulated air pollutants” in steps d) and e). The specification does not define “regulated air pollutants,” nor does the specification indicate which regulations are being referred to. Further, as regulations can change, it is not clear which pollutants the claim refers to.
Claims 2-6 each depend from claim 1 and inherit the indefiniteness based on that dependency.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends.
Claim 5 recites that the cooled debris is split based on size, and that larger sizes form the second stream. However, claim 1 already recites that the second stream has smaller particles than the first stream in step g). As such, claim 5 does not include all of the limitations of claim 1 because claim 5 cannot include the limitation that the second stream has smaller particles than the first stream.
Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 1 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The closest prior art to the subject matter of claim 1 is US 20140166465 (“Varma”). Varma teaches a method for torrefying organic material, which is explicitly defined as including construction and demolition debris (see e.g. paragraphs [0017] and [0024]). Varma teaches that the material is torrefied at 125-300 °C for 90 minutes (see e.g. paragraph [0053]), using a sweep gas during the process (see e.g. paragraph [0044]). The resulting product has a density of more than 3 times that of the initial product, showing that the volume has been reduced by at least 40% (see e.g. Table 2). Further, the steps of removing recyclable material prior to torrefaction and controlling the size of the debris are obvious to those of skill in the art.
However, claim 1 recites that the torrefied product is then split into two streams, with the larger particles after torrefaction being transferred to a landfill and the smaller particles after torrefaction being returned to the start of the process to repeat the steps at least one time. In contrast, Varma appears to treat the entirety of the torrefied product as a single stream without separation based on size of the particles. Varma does not teach or fairly suggest that the smaller material is returned to a size reduction unit to pass through the process a second time.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ERIC S SHERMAN whose telephone number is (703)756-4784. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:30-5:00 ET.
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/E.S.S./Examiner, Art Unit 1736
/ANTHONY J ZIMMER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1736
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