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 .
DETAILED CORRESPONDENCE
Priority
Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) is acknowledged.
Status of Claims
Claims 4, 7 have been amended via preliminary amendments. (Original Claim 5 has been renumbered as claim 7)
No claims have been cancelled.
Claims 5, 6, 8, 9 are new via preliminary amendments. (In regards to claims 5, 6, 8, 9, claims identified as “New” do not need to be underlined.)
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(b)
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 – 9 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the standard packaging" in line 3 of the claim. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 4, 5, 6 recites the limitation "the standard packagings" in lines 4, 3, of the claim, respectively. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
In regards to claim 1, the Examiner is uncertain as to what the standard market price corresponds to. That is to say, is the standard market price supposed to be for the package (the box only), the packaged material (the recycled material and box), or only the recycled material? It is also unclear as to what the “standard packaging” is supposed to. Is it the package (the box only), the packaged material (the recycled material and box), or only the recycled material? When reviewing the specification, ¶ 20 discloses that a company purchases the standard packaging from the CNC machining factory at a standard price and ¶ 23 discloses that the standard price is based on the grade composition of the material, in this case, aluminum chips purity grade. This makes it seem that “standard packaging” is supposed to be interpreted as only the recycled material. However, the specification and claimed invention recite “filling a recycled material into the standard packaging”, which results in interpreting “standard packaging” as the box/container only and not the recycled material or the combination of the recycled material and box/container. The scope of the invention is indefinite because multiple definitions have been provided for the same term/phrase.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1 – 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more. The claims recite:
filling a recycled material into the standard packaging and scanning a label on the standard packaging to obtain an access node of a carbon data report;
recording a physical or chemical detection result of the recycled material, a real-time filling image, a carbon footprint history, and factory recycling information at the access node; and
recording a standard market price of the standard packaging, transporting the standard packaging to store the standard packaging in a storage space, scanning the label to obtain the access node, recording a storage time of the standard package in the storage space and the carbon emissions generated directly or indirectly, and storing data of the storage time and the carbon emissions in the carbon data report
The invention is directed towards the abstract idea of collecting and organizing information for carbon emission tracking, which corresponds to “Mental Processes” and “Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activities” as it is directed towards steps that can be performed by a human(s), in the human mind, and/or with the aid of pen and paper, e.g., having a user fill and label a container (or bundling) with a recycled material; looking at and writing down identification information of the package, characteristics of the recycled material, monetary value of the package; transporting and storing the package; and using the aggregation of this information to have a report regarding the amount of direct or indirect carbon emissions associated with the package. The invention utilizes this information for determining the value of the package to facilitate a commercial transaction.
The limitations of:
filling a recycled material into the standard packaging and scanning a label on the standard packaging to obtain an access node of a carbon data report;
recording a physical or chemical detection result of the recycled material, a real-time filling image, a carbon footprint history, and factory recycling information at the access node; and
recording a standard market price of the standard packaging, transporting the standard packaging to store the standard packaging in a storage space, scanning the label to obtain the access node, recording a storage time of the standard package in the storage space and the carbon emissions generated directly or indirectly, and storing data of the storage time and the carbon emissions in the carbon data report,
are processes that, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers performance of the limitation performed by a human(s), in the human mind, and/or with the aid of pen and paper, and fails to recite any additional elements or technology, further establishing that the claimed invention can be practically performed by humans and that the claimed invention is not improving technology, resolving an issue that arose in technology, or deeply rooted in technology. Nothing in the claim element precludes the step from practically being performed in the mind. For example, in the context of this claim encompasses having a user fill and label a container (or bundling) with a recycled material; looking at and writing down identification information of the package, characteristics of the recycled material, monetary value of the package; transporting and storing the package; and using the aggregation of this information to have a report regarding the amount of direct or indirect carbon emissions associated with the package. The invention utilizes this information for determining the value of the package to facilitate a commercial transaction. If a claim limitation, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers performance of the limitation in the mind, then it falls within the “Mental Processes” and “Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activities” groupings of abstract ideas. Accordingly, the claims recite an abstract idea.
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because it does not recite additional elements or technology, which establishes that the claimed invention can be practically performed by humans and that the claimed invention is not improving technology, resolving an issue that arose in technology, or deeply rooted in technology.
Accordingly, the abstract idea is not integrated into a practical application because it does not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. The claim is directed to an abstract idea.
The claim does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. As discussed above with respect to integration of the abstract idea into a practical application to perform the steps of:
filling a recycled material into the standard packaging and scanning a label on the standard packaging to obtain an access node of a carbon data report;
recording a physical or chemical detection result of the recycled material, a real-time filling image, a carbon footprint history, and factory recycling information at the access node; and
recording a standard market price of the standard packaging, transporting the standard packaging to store the standard packaging in a storage space, scanning the label to obtain the access node, recording a storage time of the standard package in the storage space and the carbon emissions generated directly or indirectly, and storing data of the storage time and the carbon emissions in the carbon data report,
amounts to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer component. Mere instructions to apply an exception using a generic computer component cannot provide an inventive concept.
Additionally:
Claim 2 is directed to human activities to investigate the content and characteristics of the recycled material to determine its purity grade and writing down their findings.
Claim 3 is directed towards the human activity of mentally thinking and/or writing down a grade composition based on the purity grade and with referenced to a standard market price.
Claims 4, 5, 6 are directed to human activities of organizing recycled materials into groups of the same type, as well as looking at/reading and writing down information.
Claims 7, 8, 9 are directed to writing down information by reviewing a collection of information.
In summary, the dependent claims are simply directed towards providing additional descriptive factors that are considered for collecting and organizing information for carbon emission tracking. Accordingly, the claims are not patent eligible.
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 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.
Claims 1 – 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Feierstein et al. (US PGPub 2011/0208621 A1) in view of Moran et al. (US PGPub 2014/0122347 A1) in further view of Beard et al. (US PGPub 2023/0177525 A1).
*The following rejection and associated interpretations have been provided in light of the rejection under 35 USC 112(b)*
In regards to claim 1, Feierstein discloses a method for metal recycling and regeneration production traceability with carbon disclosure comprising steps of:
filling a recycled material into the standard packaging and [acquiring a unique identifier] on the [recycled material] to obtain an access node of a carbon data report (¶ 55, 59, 61, 78, 81 wherein a recyclable product is filled into a package, wherein the recyclable product has a unique identifier to obtain an access node to retrieve a carbon data report);
recording a physical or chemical detection result of the recycled material, […], a carbon footprint history, and factory recycling information at the access node (¶ 60, 61, 66, 81 wherein the system records the physical composition of the recyclable product involved in the product’s manufacture and its packaging to record a carbon footprint history and factory recycling information that can be access via the access node); and
recording a standard market price of the standard packaging, transporting the standard packaging to store the standard packaging in a storage space, [obtaining the unique identifier] to obtain the access node, recording a storage […] of the standard package in the storage space and the carbon emissions generated directly or indirectly, and storing data of the storage […] and the carbon emissions in the carbon data report (¶ 59, 60, 61, 62, 64, 78, 81 wherein the system stores information regarding the recyclable product that includes its distribution/transportation, storage, and direct and indirect carbon emissions, which are provided in a report and to determine the value of the packaged product).
Feierstein discloses a system and method of tracking and recording carbon emissions associated with the manufacture, transportation, storage, and disposal/recycling of a packaged recyclable product. Although Feierstein discloses that the material is labeled with an identification number so that it can be tracked, Feierstein fails to disclose whether the packaging is labeled and that the label is scanned, as well as tracking the time when the packaged product is stored.
To be more specific, Feierstein fails to explicitly disclose:
filling a recycled material into the standard packaging and scanning a label on the standard packaging to obtain an access node of a carbon data report;
recording a physical or chemical detection result of the recycled material, a real-time filling image, a carbon footprint history, and factory recycling information at the access node; and
recording a standard market price of the standard packaging, transporting the standard packaging to store the standard packaging in a storage space, scanning the label to obtain the access node, recording a storage time of the standard package in the storage space and the carbon emissions generated directly or indirectly, and storing data of the storage time and the carbon emissions in the carbon data report
However, Moran, which is also directed towards the packaging, transportation, tracking, and selling/purchasing of recyclable products, such as, but not limited to, metal shavings, further teaches that it is well-known in the art to provide the packaged product with a label having identification information that is scanned in order to track the lifecycle, location, and the like of the packaged product. Moran teaches that such products have value and need to be tracked and accounted for and that such labeling and scanning methods not only facilitate the tracking of the products, but reduce fraud, theft, and allow for, at least, accurate real-time tracking of where a product is and for how long it has been stored so that it can be properly managed.
(For support see: ¶ 20, 21, 25, 29, 33, 35, 37, 38, 40, 41, 43)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate into the product tracking system and method of Feierstein with the ability to label a bundled product to scan its lifecycle as it is transported from a product manufacturer to an end user, as taught by Moran, because it reduces fraud, theft, and allows for, at least, accurate real-time tracking of where a product is and for how long it has been stored so that it can be properly managed.
The combination of Feierstein and Moran discloses a system and method for real-time tracking of a product’s lifecycle so that a traceability record can be created and to prevent fraud and theft. Although the combination of Feierstein and Moran discloses that the product is tracked from manufacture, packaging, transporting, and disposal, the combination of Feierstein and Moran fails to explicitly disclose whether images are captured when the product is being packaged.
To be more specific, the combination of Feierstein and Moran fails to explicitly disclose:
recording a physical or chemical detection result of the recycled material, a real-time filling image, a carbon footprint history, and factory recycling information at the access node.
However, Beard, which is also directed towards tracking product traceability, further teaches that it would have been beneficial to capture an image of the product during production and filling and storing these images because this a verifiable record that allows one to track a product’s lifecycle as it is traveling through a production line. Beard teaches that this ensures validity of a product.
(For support see: ¶ 3, 4, 14, 36, 83, 89 – 92)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention product traceability tracking system and method of the combination of Feierstein and Moran to capture images of the product during its production, which includes a filling image, as taught by Beard, because this ensures validity of a product and prevents fraudulent activity from taking place.
In regards to claim 2, the combination of Feierstein, Moran, and Beard discloses the method for metal recycling and regeneration production traceability with carbon disclosure according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises a step of: performing a detection and analysis on the recycled material within the standard packaging to determine a purity grade of the recycled material, and recording the purity grade in the carbon data report of the access node (Feierstein – ¶ 60, 61; Moran – ¶ 33, 35, 37 wherein the system captures and stores information of all materials in the packaged product, which is used to determine its value. This is accomplished by scanning the unique identifier that informs the system how much and what type of material is within the package, as well as having the system determine its weight as it is unloaded and ensuring that only materials that have value are stored and transported to an end user.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate into the product tracking system and method of Feierstein with the ability to label a bundled product to scan its lifecycle as it is transported from a product manufacturer to an end user, as taught by Moran, because it reduces fraud, theft, and allows for, at least, accurate real-time tracking of where a product is and for how long it has been stored so that it can be properly managed.).
In regards to claim 3, the combination of Feierstein, Moran, and Beard discloses the method for metal recycling and regeneration production traceability with carbon disclosure according to claim 2, wherein the method further comprises a step of: generating a grade compensation based on the purity grade and with reference to the standard market price (Feierstein – ¶ ¶ 59, 60, 61, 62, 64, 78, 81 wherein the system stores information regarding the recyclable product that includes its distribution/transportation, storage, and direct and indirect carbon emissions, which are provided in a report and to determine the value of the packaged product; Moran – ¶ 25, 31 wherein the material has a corresponding cost based on the material type.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate into the product tracking system and method of Feierstein with the ability to label a bundled product to scan its lifecycle as it is transported from a product manufacturer to an end user, as taught by Moran, because it reduces fraud, theft, and allows for, at least, accurate real-time tracking of where a product is and for how long it has been stored so that it can be properly managed.).
In regards to claim 4, the combination of Feierstein, Moran, and Beard discloses the method for metal recycling and regeneration production traceability with carbon disclosure according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises a step of: processing the recycled materials from multiple of the standard packagings with identical physical or chemical properties through a reprocessing procedure for modification and mixing; and scanning the code and recording the carbon emissions of the reprocessing procedure in the carbon data report (Feierstein – ¶ 59, 60, 61, 62, 64, 78, 81 wherein the system stores information regarding the recyclable product that includes its distribution/transportation, storage, and direct and indirect carbon emissions, which are provided in a report and to determine the value of the packaged product; Moran – Fig. 2B; ¶ 33, 38, 39 wherein the system manages a plurality of packaged products using scannable identification tags and, if necessary, store each packaged product until a sufficient amount of packaged products of the same type is collected.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate into the product tracking system and method of Feierstein with the ability to label a bundled product to scan its lifecycle as it is transported from a product manufacturer to an end user, as taught by Moran, because it reduces fraud, theft, and allows for, at least, accurate real-time tracking of where a product is and for how long it has been stored so that it can be properly managed.).
In regards to claim 5, the combination of Feierstein, Moran, and Beard discloses the method for metal recycling and regeneration production traceability with carbon disclosure according to claim 2,wherein the method further comprises a step of: processing the recycled materials from multiple of the standard packagings with identical physical or chemical properties through a reprocessing procedure for modification and mixing; and scanning the code and recording the carbon emissions of the reprocessing procedure in the carbon data report (Feierstein – ¶ 59, 60, 61, 62, 64, 78, 81 wherein the system stores information regarding the recyclable product that includes its distribution/transportation, storage, and direct and indirect carbon emissions, which are provided in a report and to determine the value of the packaged product; Moran – Fig. 2B; ¶ 33, 38, 39 wherein the system manages a plurality of packaged products using scannable identification tags and, if necessary, store each packaged product until a sufficient amount of packaged products of the same type is collected.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate into the product tracking system and method of Feierstein with the ability to label a bundled product to scan its lifecycle as it is transported from a product manufacturer to an end user, as taught by Moran, because it reduces fraud, theft, and allows for, at least, accurate real-time tracking of where a product is and for how long it has been stored so that it can be properly managed.).
In regards to claim 6, the combination of Feierstein, Moran, and Beard discloses the method for metal recycling and regeneration production traceability with carbon disclosure according to claim 3, wherein the method further comprises a step of: processing the recycled materials from multiple of the standard packagings with identical physical or chemical properties through a reprocessing procedure for modification and mixing; and scanning the code and recording the carbon emissions of the reprocessing procedure in the carbon data report (Feierstein – ¶ 59, 60, 61, 62, 64, 78, 81 wherein the system stores information regarding the recyclable product that includes its distribution/transportation, storage, and direct and indirect carbon emissions, which are provided in a report and to determine the value of the packaged product; Moran – Fig. 2B; ¶ 33, 38, 39 wherein the system manages a plurality of packaged products using scannable identification tags and, if necessary, store each packaged product until a sufficient amount of packaged products of the same type is collected.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate into the product tracking system and method of Feierstein with the ability to label a bundled product to scan its lifecycle as it is transported from a product manufacturer to an end user, as taught by Moran, because it reduces fraud, theft, and allows for, at least, accurate real-time tracking of where a product is and for how long it has been stored so that it can be properly managed.).
In regards to claim 7, the combination of Feierstein, Moran, and Beard discloses the method for metal recycling and regeneration production traceability with carbon disclosure according to claim 4, wherein the method further comprises a step of: evenly distributing all the records of the carbon emissions from the carbon data reports among the regenerated products produced by the reprocessing procedure, and generating a finished product carbon emission record, a traceability report, and a carbon certificate for the regenerated products (Feierstein – ¶ 59, 60, 61, 62, 64, 78, 81 wherein the system stores information regarding the recyclable products that include their respective manufacturing, packaging, distribution/transportation, storage, and direct and indirect carbon emissions, which are provided in a record and a verifiable report to determine the value of the packaged products).
In regards to claim 8, the combination of Feierstein, Moran, and Beard discloses the method for metal recycling and regeneration production traceability with carbon disclosure according to claim 5,wherein the method further comprises a step of: evenly distributing all the records of the carbon emissions from the carbon data reports among the regenerated products produced by the reprocessing procedure, and generating a finished product carbon emission record, a traceability report, and a carbon certificate for the regenerated products (Feierstein – ¶ 59, 60, 61, 62, 64, 78, 81 wherein the system stores information regarding the recyclable products that include their respective manufacturing, packaging, distribution/transportation, storage, and direct and indirect carbon emissions, which are provided in a record and a verifiable report to determine the value of the packaged products).
In regards to claim 9, the combination of Feierstein, Moran, and Beard discloses the method for metal recycling and regeneration production traceability with carbon disclosure according to claim 6, wherein the method further comprises a step of: evenly distributing all the records of the carbon emissions from the carbon data reports among the regenerated products produced by the reprocessing procedure, and generating a finished product carbon emission record, a traceability report, and a carbon certificate for the regenerated products (Feierstein – ¶ 59, 60, 61, 62, 64, 78, 81 wherein the system stores information regarding the recyclable products that include their respective manufacturing, packaging, distribution/transportation, storage, and direct and indirect carbon emissions, which are provided in a record and a verifiable report to determine the value of the packaged products).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure can be found in the attached PTO-892 Notice of References Cited.
Schneider (US PGPub 2022/0237556 A1); Wollack et al. (WO 2020/25013 A1); Sanchez et al. (US PGPub 2022/0067751 A1); Whiteman (US PGPub 2009/0187493 A1); Stamets (US PGPub 2008/0046277 A1); Tran-Ngoc et al. (CA 3209754 A1); Bradley et al. (CA 2863315 C); Congressional Research Service (US Aluminum Manufacturing Industry Trends and Sustainability); Oberhausen et al. (Reducing the environmental impacts of aluminum extrusion); Raabe et al. (Making sustainable aluminum by recycling scrap: The science of dirty alloys) – which disclose carbon emission tracking for the lifecycle of a product
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GERARDO ARAQUE JR whose telephone number is (571)272-3747. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8-4:30.
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GERARDO ARAQUE JR
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3629
/GERARDO ARAQUE JR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3629 4/20/2026
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