DETAILED 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
Claims 11 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 11, “a identical pitch” should read “an identical pitch”
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 13 and 15-20 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.
Claim 13 recites the limitation "a curtain of suspended elongated members", wherein this element was previously recited in claim 9. It is unclear if this limitation is referencing the same curtain recited in claim 9 or an additional curtain.
Claim 13 recites “the platform”, however claim 9 previously recited “the downstream platform” and “an upper platform.” It is unclear which platform “the platform” is in reference to. It appears claim 13 should be dependent upon claim 10 instead of claim 9.
Claim 15 recites “the second inclination.” There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. It appears claim 15 should be dependent upon claim 14 instead of claim 13.
Claim 16 recites “the second inclination.” There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. It appears claim 16 should be dependent upon claim 14 instead of claim 13.
Claim 18 recites “an upstream platform”, “a downstream platform” and “a curtain of suspended elongated members”, which were previously recited in claim 9. It is unclear if this limitation is referencing the same upstream platform, downstream platform, and curtain recited in claim 9 or an additional upstream platform, downstream platform and curtain.
Claims 17 and 19-20 are rejected as they are dependent upon a previously rejected claim.
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 12 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 12 recites limitations which were previously recited in claim 1.
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.
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 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Guenther (US 2015/0290681).
Regarding claim 10, Guenther (US 2015/0290681) teaches a system for mechanical separation of materials (Paragraph 0002 lines 1-6), the system comprising:
a platform comprising screws (Fig. 1 platform formed by #2) providing a sieving surface for the materials to be sieved as the materials travel thereon (Paragraph 0050 line 5-Paragraph 0051 line 11), the screws being adapted to undergo a rotational movement (Paragraph 0050 lines 3-8), the screws having a proximal end (Fig. 2 see proximal end of #2 mounted to #12) and a distal end (Fig. 2 see distal end of #2 away from #12),
wherein the screws of the platform have a screw inclination from the proximal end thereof to the distal end thereof (Paragraph 0022 lines 1-12), the distal end thereof being higher than the proximal end thereof (Fig. 2 distal end of #2 being higher than proximal end of #2), thereby providing an inclination to the sieving surface (Paragraph 0022 lines 1-12).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Guenther (US 2015/0290681) in view of Tuuha (US 4430210).
Regarding claim 1, Guenther (US 2015/0290681) teaches a system for mechanical separation of materials (Paragraph 0002 lines 1-6), the system comprising:
a platform comprising screws (Fig. 1 platform formed by #2) providing a sieving surface for the materials to be sieved as the materials travel thereon (Paragraph 0050 line 5-Paragraph 0051 line 11), the screws each comprising a screw axis (Fig. 1 axis of #2), the axes of the screws being parallel and neighbor to one another (Fig. 2 see axis of #2 being parallel and neighbor to one another), the screws adapted to undergo a rotational movement (Paragraph 0050 lines 3-8),
wherein at least one of the screws is a single-start thread screw (Fig. 1 see #2 with single-start thread screw #3).
Guenther (US 2015/0290681) lacks teaching wherein at least one of the screws is a double-start thread screw.
Tuuha (US 4430210) teaches a system for mechanical separation of materials (Col. 1 lines 7-10) wherein at least one of the screws (Fig. 1 #1) is a double-start thread screw (Col. 4 lines 53-56).
Tuuha (US 4430210) explains that the spirals may be one-headed, but more preferably are multi-headed, as the more heads a spiral has, the higher its pitch and correspondingly, the higher its transportation speed (Col. 4 lines 53-56).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Guenther (US 2015/0290681) to include wherein at least one of the screws is a double-start thread screw as taught by Tuuha (US 4430210) in order to provide higher pitch and therefore higher transportation speed.
Regarding claim 2, Guenther (US 2015/0290681) teaches the system of claim 1, wherein the platform has an upstream end (Fig. 1 see upstream end of platform formed by #2 where material is fed at #6) according to a travel axis (Fig. 1 see travel axis formed along #6).
Guenther (US 2015/0290681) lacks teaching the at least one double-start thread screw being closest to the upstream end of the platform.
Tuuha (US 4430210) teaches a system for mechanical separation of materials (Col. 1 lines 7-10) with the at least one double-start thread screw being closest to the upstream end of the platform (Col. 4 lines 54-62).
Tuuha (US 4430210) explains that the multi-head spiral has a higher pitch (threads per inch) and correspondingly, higher transportation speed (Col. 4 lines 53-56), and explains that the pitch of the spiral may increase (distance between threads) with the direction of transport to increase the readiness of liberation of the chips from the screen slot (Col. 4 lines 58-63).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Guenther (US 2015/0290681) to include the at least one double-start thread screw being closest to the upstream end of the platform as taught by Tuuha (US 4430210) in order to provide higher pitch and therefore higher transportation speed at the upstream end of the platform and increase the throughput of material as the material travels downstream.
Regarding claim 3, Guenther (US 2015/0290681) teaches the system of claim 1, wherein the platform comprises a screw base (Fig. 2 #12) adapted to exert the rotational movement to the screws synchronously (Paragraph 0053 lines 1-2, Paragraph 0062 lines 4-6).
Regarding claim 4, Guenther (US 2015/0290681) lacks teaching the system of claim 2, wherein the screws comprises a plurality of double-start thread screws neighboring one another at the upstream end.
Tuuha (US 4430210) teaches a system for mechanical separation of materials (Col. 1 lines 7-10) wherein the screws (Fig. 1 #1) comprises a plurality of double-start thread screws neighboring one another (Fig. 1 see plurality of #1 neighboring one another) at the upstream end (Col. 4 lines 54-62).
Tuuha (US 4430210) explains that the multi-head spiral has a higher pitch (threads per inch) and correspondingly, higher transportation speed (Col. 4 lines 53-56), and explains that the pitch of the spiral may increase (distance between threads) with the direction of transport to increase the readiness of liberation of the chips from the screen slot (Col. 4 lines 58-63).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Guenther (US 2015/0290681) to include wherein the screws comprises a plurality of double-start thread screws neighboring one another at the upstream end as taught by Tuuha (US 4430210) in order to provide higher pitch and therefore higher transportation speed at the upstream end of the platform and increase the throughput of material as the material travels downstream.
Regarding claim 5, Guenther (US 2015/0290681) teaches the system of claim 1, wherein the platform comprises a screw base (Fig. 2 #12) with the screws comprising a supported proximal end mounted to the screw base (Fig. 2 see proximal end of #2 mounted to #12), and a free end distal to the screw base (Fig. 2 see free end of #2 distal to #12).
Regarding claim 6, Guenther (US 2015/0290681) teaches the system of claim 5, wherein the screws have a screw inclination along the screw axis (Fig. 1 inclination along axis of #2) resulting in a free end of the screws being higher than a supported end of the screws (Paragraph 0022 lines 1-12).
Regarding claim 7, Guenther (US 2015/0290681) teaches the system of claim 1, wherein the platform has an upstream end (Fig. 1 see upstream end of platform formed by #2 where material is fed at #6) and a downstream end (Fig. 1 see downstream end of platform formed by #2 at #4) along a travel axis (Fig. 1 see travel axis formed along #6), and wherein the screws have a travel inclination along the travel axis (Fig. 1 see inclination of #2 along axis formed along #6), thereby generating a denivelation of the sieving surface between the upstream end and the downstream end (Fig. 2 see denivelation of surface formed by #2 between upstream end at #6 and downstream end at #4).
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Guenther (US 2015/0290681) in view of Tuuha (US 4430210) and further in view of Yang (CN 2520952). English translations of Yang (CN 2520952) have been provided herein.
Regarding claim 8, Guenther (US 2015/0290681) lacks teaching the system of claim 1, further comprising a curtain of suspended elongated members to slow down the materials travelling on the sieving surface, wherein the curtain is suspended over a location between the 50% and 75% of a length of the platform.
Yang (CN 2520952) teaches a system for mechanical separation of materials (Paragraph 0001 lines 1-7), further comprising a curtain of suspended elongated members (Fig. 1 #73) to slow down the materials travelling on the sieving surface (Paragraph 0022 lines 8-17), wherein the curtain is suspended over a location between the 50% and 75% of a length of the platform (Fig. 1 see #73 suspended over a location between 50% and 75% of a length of #1).
Yang (CN 2520952) explains that the movable buffer curtain has a brush extending to appropriately buffer the fruit’s advance and simultaneously clean the surface of the fruit to remove residual dirt (Paragraph 0022 lines 8-17).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Guenther (US 2015/0290681) to include a curtain of suspended elongated members to slow down the materials travelling on the sieving surface, wherein the curtain is suspended over a location between the 50% and 75% of a length of the platform as taught by Yang (CN 2520952) in order to appropriately slow the item and simultaneously clean the surface of the items to remove residual materials.
Claims 9, 11-13 and 15-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Guenther (US 2015/0290681) in view of Tuuha (US 4430210), Austin et al. (US 6149018) and further in view of Yang (CN 2520952). English translations of Yang (CN 2520952) have been provided herein.
Regarding claim 9, Guenther (US 2015/0290681) lacks teaching the system of claim 1, further comprising an upper platform sequentially upstream of said platform, providing a drop therebetween.
Austin et al. (US 6149018) teaches a system for mechanical separation of materials (Col. 1 lines 11-15), comprising an upper platform (Fig. 7 #130, 132) sequentially upstream of said platform (Fig. 7 #130, 132 upstream #134), providing a drop therebetween (Fig. 7 see drop between #132 and #134).
Austin et al. (US 6149018) explains that multi-stage screens allow the user to classify material into multiple fractions of increasing size and results in more efficient separation due to higher velocity in the second stage, causing material to speed up and spread out when passing from the first stage to the second stage and resulting in more efficient screening (Col. 6 line 64-Col. 7 line 5). Austin et al. (US 6149018) additionally explains that the drop causes the material to drop onto the downstream platform in a vertical direction or will flip over, therefore increasing the likelihood that the material will become dislodged and fall through the screen (Col. 8 lines 29-36).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Guenther (US 2015/0290681) to include an upper platform sequentially upstream of said platform, providing a drop therebetween as taught by Austin et al. (US 6149018) in order to increase the likelihood that the material will be separated and fall through the screen and provide a more efficient screening.
Guenther (US 2015/0290681) lacks teaching a curtain of suspended elongated members to slow down the materials travelling on the sieving surface, wherein the curtain is suspended over the downstream platform immediately downstream of the drop.
Yang (CN 2520952) teaches a system for mechanical separation of materials (Paragraph 0001 lines 1-7), comprising a curtain of suspended elongated members (Fig. 1 #73) to slow down the materials travelling on the sieving surface (Paragraph 0022 lines 8-17), wherein the curtain is suspended over the downstream platform (Fig. 1 #7 suspended over platform #1) immediately downstream of the drop (Fig. 1 #7 suspended over #1 immediately downstream of drop between #4 and #1).
Yang (CN 2520952) explains that the movable buffer curtain has a brush extending to appropriately buffer the fruit’s advance and simultaneously clean the surface of the fruit to remove residual dirt (Paragraph 0022 lines 8-17). Yang (CN 2520952) additionally explains that the fruit is smoothly guided from the feeding platform to the sorting area (Paragraph 0023 lines 1-4).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Guenther (US 2015/0290681) to include a curtain of suspended elongated members to slow down the materials travelling on the sieving surface, wherein the curtain is suspended over the downstream platform immediately downstream of the drop as taught by Yang (CN 2520952) in order to appropriately slow the item in order to provide a smooth guidance of material to the downstream platform and simultaneously clean the surface of the items to remove residual materials.
Regarding claim 11, Guenther (US 2015/0290681) teaches the system of claim 9, wherein each one of the screws comprises a number of helicoidal blades mounted to a shaft (Fig. 1 see #4 mounted to #3), wherein the helicoidal blades have a identical pitch (Fig. 1 see identical pitch of #4).
Guenther (US 2015/0290681) lacks teaching wherein at least two of the screws comprise a different number of blades.
Tuuha (US 4430210) teaches a system for mechanical separation of materials (Col. 1 lines 7-10) wherein at least two of the screws comprise a different number of blades (Col. 4 lines 53-59).
Tuuha (US 4430210) explains that the spirals may be one-headed, but more preferably are multi-headed, as the more heads a spiral has, the higher its pitch and correspondingly, the higher its transportation speed (Col. 4 lines 53-56). Tuuha (US 4430210) explains the pitch may increase with the direction of the transport to increase the readiness of liberation of the chips from the screen slot (Col. 4 lines 58-62).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Guenther (US 2015/0290681) to include wherein at least two of the screws comprise a different number of blades as taught by Tuuha (US 4430210) in order to adjust the transportation speed and the screening properties at different locations along the screen.
Regarding claim 12, Guenther (US 2015/0290681) teaches the system of claim 9, wherein at least one of the screws is a single-start thread screw (Fig. 1 see #2 with single-start thread screw #3).
Guenther (US 2015/0290681) lacks teaching wherein at least one of the screws is a double-start thread screw.
Tuuha (US 4430210) teaches a system for mechanical separation of materials (Col. 1 lines 7-10) wherein at least one of the screws (Fig. 1 #1) is a double-start thread screw (Col. 4 lines 53-56).
Tuuha (US 4430210) explains that the spirals may be one-headed, but more preferably are multi-headed, as the more heads a spiral has, the higher its pitch and correspondingly, the higher its transportation speed (Col. 4 lines 53-56).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Guenther (US 2015/0290681) to include wherein at least one of the screws is a double-start thread screw as taught by Tuuha (US 4430210) in order to provide higher pitch and therefore higher transportation speed.
Regarding claim 13, Guenther (US 2015/0290681) lacks teaching the system of claim 9, further comprising a curtain of suspended elongated members to slow down the materials travelling on the sieving surface, wherein the curtain is suspended over a location between the 50% and 75% of a length of the platform.
Yang (CN 2520952) teaches a system for mechanical separation of materials (Paragraph 0001 lines 1-7), further comprising a curtain of suspended elongated members (Fig. 1 #73) to slow down the materials travelling on the sieving surface (Paragraph 0022 lines 8-17), wherein the curtain is suspended over a location between the 50% and 75% of a length of the platform (Fig. 1 see #73 suspended over a location between 50% and 75% of a length of #1).
Yang (CN 2520952) explains that the movable buffer curtain has a brush extending to appropriately buffer the fruit’s advance and simultaneously clean the surface of the fruit to remove residual dirt (Paragraph 0022 lines 8-17).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Guenther (US 2015/0290681) to include a curtain of suspended elongated members to slow down the materials travelling on the sieving surface, wherein the curtain is suspended over a location between the 50% and 75% of a length of the platform as taught by Yang (CN 2520952) in order to appropriately slow the item and simultaneously clean the surface of the items to remove residual materials.
Regarding claim 15, Guenther (US 2015/0290681) teaches the system of claim 13, wherein the screws have a proximal end (Fig. 2 see proximal end of #2 mounted to #12) and a distal end (Fig. 2 see distal end of #2 away from #12), and wherein at least one of the first inclination (Fig. 2 inclination of #2) and the second inclination results in the distal end of the screws being higher than the proximal end of the screws (Paragraph 0022 lines 1-12), wherein rotation of the screws exerts a movement of the materials towards the distal end of the screws (Fig. 1 rotation of #2 exerts movement towards distal end of #2, see direction along #10).
Regarding claim 16, Guenther (US 2015/0290681) teaches the system of claim 13, wherein the screws have a screw axis (Fig. 1 axis along #2), at least one of the first inclination and the second inclination comprises an angle of the sieving surface of over 0 degrees along a travel axis perpendicular to screw axis (Fig. 1 see angle of sieving surface formed by #2 over 0 degrees along axis from #6 to #4, perpendicular to axis of #2).
Guenther (US 2015/0290681) lacks teaching at least one of the first inclination and the second inclination comprises an angle of the sieving surface of over 0 degrees along a travel axis perpendicular to screw axis, wherein the first inclination and the second inclination have different angles of the sieving surface of the platforms along the travel axis.
Austin et al. (US 6149018) teaches a system for mechanical separation of materials (Col. 1 lines 11-15), wherein at least one of the first inclination (Fig. 7 inclination of #130, 132) and the second inclination (Fig. 7 inclination of #134) comprises an angle of the sieving surface of over 0 degrees along a travel axis perpendicular to screw axis (Fig. 7 inclination of #130, 132 and inclination of #134 are over 0 degrees along travel axis perpendicular to axis of #135), wherein the first inclination and the second inclination have different angles of the sieving surface of the platforms along the travel axis (Fig. 7 inclination of #130, 132 different from inclination of #134 along travel axis perpendicular to axis of #135).
Austin et al. (US 6149018) explains that multi-stage screens allow the user to classify material into multiple fractions of increasing size and results in more efficient separation due to higher velocity in the second stage, causing material to speed up and spread out when passing from the first stage to the second stage and resulting in more efficient screening (Col. 6 line 64-Col. 7 line 5). Austin et al. (US 6149018) additionally explains that the angle of inclination may be set between 25 and 45 degrees from the horizontal to achieve a proper separation for specific materials (Col. 11 lines 9-17).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Guenther (US 2015/0290681) to include at least one of the first inclination and the second inclination comprises an angle of the sieving surface of over 0 degrees along a travel axis perpendicular to screw axis, wherein the first inclination and the second inclination have different angles of the sieving surface of the platforms along the travel axis as taught by Austin et al. (US 6149018) in order to classify material into multiple different fractions as the material travels along the first and second inclination and to provide a more efficient separation.
Regarding claim 17, Guenther (US 2015/0290681) lacks teaching the system of claim 13, wherein the at least two platforms comprise an upstream platform and a downstream platform that are neighboring one another along a travel axis, wherein the upstream platform is higher than the downstream platform where their sieve surfaces neighbor one another, providing a drop therebetween, wherein the downstream platform comprises a double-start thread screw by the drop and a single-start thread screw more downstream to the drop.
Austin et al. (US 6149018) teaches a system for mechanical separation of materials (Col. 1 lines 11-15), wherein the at least two platforms (Fig. 7 #130, 132, 134) comprise an upstream platform (Fig. 7 #130, 132) and a downstream platform (Fig. 7 #134) that are neighboring one another along a travel axis (Fig. 7 #130, 132 neighboring #134 along travel axis), wherein the upstream platform is higher than the downstream platform where their sieve surfaces neighbor one another (Fig. 7 see #130, 132 higher than #134 where #132 neighbors #134), providing a drop therebetween (Fig. 7 see drop between #132 and #134), wherein the downstream platform (Fig. 7 #134) comprises an overlapping-disc screw by the drop (Fig. 8 see #144 provided by drop between #132 and #134) and an equal-spaced disc screw more downstream to the drop (Fig. 8 see #146 more downstream drop between #132 and #134).
Austin et al. (US 6149018) explains that multi-stage screens allow the user to classify material into multiple fractions of increasing size and results in more efficient separation due to higher velocity in the second stage, causing material to speed up and spread out when passing from the first stage to the second stage and resulting in more efficient screening (Col. 6 line 64-Col. 7 line 5). Austin et al. (US 6149018) explains that the first three rows have overlapping discs that prevent material from passing through the discs (Col. 8 lines 36-38), and the discs on subsequent rows are aligned in the same longitudinal position to allow precise control over the size of debris that falls down through the screen (Col. 7 lines 31-50). Austin et al. (US 6149018) additionally explains that the drop causes the material to drop onto the downstream platform in a vertical direction or will flip over, therefore increasing the likelihood that the material will become dislodged and fall through the screen (Col. 8 lines 29-36).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Guenther (US 2015/0290681) to include the at least two platforms comprise an upstream platform and a downstream platform that are neighboring one another along a travel axis, wherein the upstream platform is higher than the downstream platform where their sieve surfaces neighbor one another, providing a drop therebetween, wherein the downstream platform comprises an overlapping-disc screw by the drop and an equal-spaced disc screw more downstream to the drop as taught by Austin et al. (US 6149018) in order to increase the likelihood that the material will be separated and fall through the screen and provide a more efficient screening by preventing the material from passing through the screen immediately after the drop and instead, speeding up and spreading out the material.
Tuuha (US 4430210) teaches a system for mechanical separation of materials (Col. 1 lines 7-10) comprising a double-start thread screw and a single-start thread screw more downstream the double-start thread screw (Col. 4 lines 54-62).
Tuuha (US 4430210) explains that the multi-head spiral has a higher pitch (threads per inch) and correspondingly, higher transportation speed (Col. 4 lines 53-56), and explains that the pitch of the spiral may increase (distance between threads) with the direction of transport to increase the readiness of liberation of the chips from the screen slot (Col. 4 lines 58-63).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Guenther (US 2015/0290681) to include a double-start thread screw by the drop and a single-start thread screw more downstream to the drop as taught by Tuuha (US 4430210) in order to provide higher pitch and therefore higher transportation speed at the upstream end of the platform and increase the throughput of material as the material travels downstream.
Regarding claim 18, Guenther (US 2015/0290681) lacks teaching the system of claim 13, wherein the at least two platforms comprise an upstream platform and a downstream platform, providing a drop therebetween, that are neighboring one another along a travel axis.
Austin et al. (US 6149018) teaches a system for mechanical separation of materials (Col. 1 lines 11-15), wherein the at least two platforms (Fig. 7 #130, 132, 134) comprise an upstream platform (Fig. 7 #130, 132) and a downstream platform (Fig. 7 #134), providing a drop therebetween (Fig. 7 see drop between #132 and #134), that are neighboring one another along a travel axis (Fig. 7 #130, 132 neighboring #134 along travel axis).
Austin et al. (US 6149018) explains that multi-stage screens allow the user to classify material into multiple fractions of increasing size and results in more efficient separation due to higher velocity in the second stage, causing material to speed up and spread out when passing from the first stage to the second stage and resulting in more efficient screening (Col. 6 line 64-Col. 7 line 5). Austin et al. (US 6149018) additionally explains that the drop causes the material to drop onto the downstream platform in a vertical direction or will flip over, therefore increasing the likelihood that the material will become dislodged and fall through the screen (Col. 8 lines 29-36).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Guenther (US 2015/0290681) to include wherein the at least two platforms comprise an upstream platform and a downstream platform, providing a drop therebetween, that are neighboring one another along a travel axis as taught by Austin et al. (US 6149018) in order to increase the likelihood that the material will be separated and fall through the screen and provide a more efficient screening by preventing the material from passing through the screen immediately after the drop.
Guenther (US 2015/0290681) lacks teaching a curtain of suspended elongated members to slow down the materials travelling on the sieving surface, wherein the curtain is suspended over the downstream platform immediately downstream of the drop.
Yang (CN 2520952) teaches a system for mechanical separation of materials (Paragraph 0001 lines 1-7), comprising a curtain of suspended elongated members (Fig. 1 #73) to slow down the materials travelling on the sieving surface (Paragraph 0022 lines 8-17), wherein the curtain is suspended over the downstream platform (Fig. 1 #7 suspended over platform #1) immediately downstream of the drop (Fig. 1 #7 suspended over #1 immediately downstream of drop between #4 and #1).
Yang (CN 2520952) explains that the movable buffer curtain has a brush extending to appropriately buffer the fruit’s advance and simultaneously clean the surface of the fruit to remove residual dirt (Paragraph 0022 lines 8-17). Yang (CN 2520952) additionally explains that the fruit is smoothly guided from the feeding platform to the sorting area (Paragraph 0023 lines 1-4).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Guenther (US 2015/0290681) to include a curtain of suspended elongated members to slow down the materials travelling on the sieving surface, wherein the curtain is suspended over the downstream platform immediately downstream of the drop as taught by Yang (CN 2520952) in order to appropriately slow the item in order to provide a smooth guidance of material to the downstream platform and simultaneously clean the surface of the items to remove residual materials.
Regarding claim 19, Guenther (US 2015/0290681) lacks teaching the system of claim 18, wherein the downstream platform comprises a double-start thread screw by the drop and a single-start thread screw more downstream to the drop.
Austin et al. (US 6149018) teaches a system for mechanical separation of materials (Col. 1 lines 11-15), wherein the downstream platform (Fig. 7 #134) comprises an overlapping-disc screw by the drop (Fig. 8 see #144 provided by drop between #132 and #134) and an equal-spaced disc screw more downstream to the drop (Fig. 8 see #146 more downstream drop between #132 and #134).
Austin et al. (US 6149018) explains that multi-stage screens allow the user to classify material into multiple fractions of increasing size and results in more efficient separation due to higher velocity in the second stage, causing material to speed up and spread out when passing from the first stage to the second stage and resulting in more efficient screening (Col. 6 line 64-Col. 7 line 5). Austin et al. (US 6149018) explains that the first three rows have overlapping discs that prevent material from passing through the discs (Col. 8 lines 36-38), and the discs on subsequent rows are aligned in the same longitudinal position to allow precise control over the size of debris that falls down through the screen (Col. 7 lines 31-50). Austin et al. (US 6149018) additionally explains that the drop causes the material to drop onto the downstream platform in a vertical direction or will flip over, therefore increasing the likelihood that the material will become dislodged and fall through the screen (Col. 8 lines 29-36).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Guenther (US 2015/0290681) to include wherein the downstream platform comprises an overlapping-disc screw by the drop and an equal-spaced disc screw more downstream to the drop as taught by Austin et al. (US 6149018) in order to increase the likelihood that the material will be separated and fall through the screen and provide a more efficient screening by preventing the material from passing through the screen immediately after the drop and instead, speeding up and spreading out the material.
Tuuha (US 4430210) teaches a system for mechanical separation of materials (Col. 1 lines 7-10) comprising a double-start thread screw and a single-start thread screw more downstream the double-start thread screw (Col. 4 lines 54-62).
Tuuha (US 4430210) explains that the multi-head spiral has a higher pitch (threads per inch) and correspondingly, higher transportation speed (Col. 4 lines 53-56), and explains that the pitch of the spiral may increase (distance between threads) with the direction of transport to increase the readiness of liberation of the chips from the screen slot (Col. 4 lines 58-63).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Guenther (US 2015/0290681) to include a double-start thread screw by the drop and a single-start thread screw more downstream to the drop as taught by Tuuha (US 4430210) in order to provide higher pitch and therefore higher transportation speed at the upstream end of the platform and increase the throughput of material as the material travels downstream.
Regarding claim 20, Guenther (US 2015/0290681) lacks teaching the system of claim 19, wherein the screws of a first one of the at least two platforms have a first inclination relative to the horizontal, wherein the screws of a second one of the at least two platforms have a screw inclination relative to the horizontal, the first screw inclination being different from the second screw inclination.
Austin et al. (US 6149018) teaches a system for mechanical separation of materials (Col. 1 lines 11-15), wherein the screws of a first one of the at least two platforms (Fig. 7 screws formed by #136 of #130, 132) have a first inclination relative to the horizontal (Fig. 7 inclination of #130, 132), wherein the screws of a second one of the at least two platforms (Fig. 7 screws formed by #136 of #134) have a screw inclination relative to the horizontal (Fig. 7 inclination of #134), the first screw inclination being different from the second screw inclination (Fig. 7 inclination of #130, 132 different from inclination of #134).
Austin et al. (US 6149018) explains that multi-stage screens allow the user to classify material into multiple fractions of increasing size and results in more efficient separation due to higher velocity in the second stage, causing material to speed up and spread out when passing from the first stage to the second stage and resulting in more efficient screening (Col. 6 line 64-Col. 7 line 5).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Guenther (US 2015/0290681) to include wherein the screws of a first one of the at least two platforms have a first inclination relative to the horizontal, wherein the screws of a second one of the at least two platforms have a screw inclination relative to the horizontal, the first screw inclination being different from the second screw inclination as taught by Austin et al. (US 6149018) in order to classify material into multiple different fractions of increasing size and to provide a more efficient separation.
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Guenther (US 2015/0290681) in view of Austin et al. (US 6149018).
Regarding claim 14, Guenther (US 2015/0290681) teaches a system for mechanical separation of materials (Paragraph 0002 lines 1-6), the system comprising:
the platform comprising screws (Fig. 1 platform formed by #2) providing a sieving surface for the materials to be sieved as the materials travel thereon (Paragraph 0050 line 5-Paragraph 0051 line 11), the screws adapted to undergo a rotational movement to exert the materials to travel thereon (Paragraph 0050 lines 3-8),
wherein the screws of a first platform have a first inclination relative to the horizontal (Paragraph 0022 lines 1-12).
Guenther (US 2015/0290681) lacks teaching at least two platforms, each of the platforms comprising screws providing a sieving surface for the materials to be sieved, wherein the screws of a first one of the at least two platforms have a first inclination relative to the horizontal, wherein the screws of a second one of the at least two platforms have a screw inclination relative to the horizontal, the first screw inclination being different from the second screw inclination.
Austin et al. (US 6149018) teaches a system for mechanical separation of materials (Col. 1 lines 11-15), the system comprising: at least two platforms (Fig. 7 #130, 132, 134), each of the platforms comprising screws providing a sieving surface for the materials to be sieved (Col. 7 lines 14-30), wherein the screws of a first one of the at least two platforms (Fig. 7 screws formed by #136 of #130, 132) have a first inclination relative to the horizontal (Fig. 7 inclination of #130, 132),
wherein the screws of a second one of the at least two platforms (Fig. 7 screws formed by #136 of #134) have a screw inclination relative to the horizontal (Fig. 7 inclination of #134), the first screw inclination being different from the second screw inclination (Fig. 7 inclination of #130, 132 different from inclination of #134).
Austin et al. (US 6149018) explains that multi-stage screens allow the user to classify material into multiple fractions of increasing size and results in more efficient separation due to higher velocity in the second stage, causing material to speed up and spread out when passing from the first stage to the second stage and resulting in more efficient screening (Col. 6 line 64-Col. 7 line 5).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Guenther (US 2015/0290681) to include at least two platforms, each of the platforms comprising screws providing a sieving surface for the materials to be sieved, wherein the screws of a first one of the at least two platforms have a first inclination relative to the horizontal, wherein the screws of a second one of the at least two platforms have a screw inclination relative to the horizontal, the first screw inclination being different from the second screw inclination as taught by Austin et al. (US 6149018) in order to classify material into multiple different fractions of increasing size and to provide a more efficient separation.
Conclusion
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/MOLLY K DEVINE/ Examiner, Art Unit 3653