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 .
Drawings
The drawings were received on 09/24/2025. These drawings are accepted.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: applicant needs to update the status of the parent application in [0001].
Appropriate correction is required.
Status of Claims
Claim 1 is as originally filed.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities:
In line 7, “the” should be inserted between “to” and “melt.”
In line 7, “is” should be inserted between “temperature” and “raised.”
In line 15, “is” should be inserted between “degassing” and “completed.”
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.
Claim 1 is 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.
The claims are generally narrative and indefinite, failing to conform with current U.S. practice. They appear to be a literal translation into English from a foreign document and are replete with grammatical and idiomatic errors. The examiner does not contend that the following rejections will completely address issues of indefiniteness and cautions that any amendments to the claims should conform to current U.S. practice to eliminate further rejections under this statute.
In Claim 1, line 4, the limitation “pure aluminum” includes the relative term “pure.” The term “pure” in claim 1 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “pure” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention.
In Claim 1, line 4, the limitation “adding in pure aluminum ingots to smelt” is incomplete. The examiner assumes pure aluminum ingots are added to the preheated crucible furnace and smelted. Correction is required.
Where applicant acts as his or her own lexicographer to specifically define a term of a claim contrary to its ordinary meaning, the written description must clearly redefine the claim term and set forth the uncommon definition to put one reasonably skilled in the art on notice that the applicant intended to redefine that claim term. Process Control Corp. v. HydReclaim Corp., 190 F.3d 1350, 1357, 52 USPQ2d 1029, 1033 (Fed. Cir. 1999). The term "to smelt" in claim 1 is used by the claim to mean "to melt," while the accepted meaning is "to extract pure metal from its ore." The term is indefinite because the specification does not clearly redefine the term at issue. If applicant intends to use the term “smelt” to mean “melt,” then the terms need to be consistent.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the molten aluminum" in line 5. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 1 recites “the smelting temperature” in lines 7 and 8. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the composition" in line 9. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 1 recites the limitation “after fully stirring” in line 10. It is not clear if applicant intends to positively recite a stirring step. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the melting of aluminum titanium carbon" in line 12. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 1 recites “letting stand for 10 minutes” in line 15. It is not clear what is “standing.”
Claim 1 recites the limitation “the composition” in line 16. It is not clear if this composition is the same as what was recited in line 9.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the final composition" in line 16. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the prescribed conditions" in line 17. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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.
CN 109207758 B (CN ‘758) teaches casting an aluminum alloy by melting an aluminum ingot whose purity is not less than 99.9% in a smelting furnace and adding an intermediate alloy before degassing and deslagging (page 2). CN ‘758 does not suggest refining and deslagging before adding Ni as claimed.
CN 111363940 A (CN ‘940) teaches reducing slag in aluminum process smelting. Raw aluminum or an aluminum ingot of more than 99.7% purity is melted in a furnace with an intermediate alloy. The furnace is preheated, and the melting temperature is increased to 700 ± 10 °C and stirring at 745 ± 2 °C. The melt is sampled and tested, with adjustments to the components. The melt is refined with a mixed gas and slagged off. Liquid refiner is added (page 2). CN ‘940 does not suggest adding Ni before refining and deslagging as claimed.
CN 107868874 A (CN ‘874) teaches melting pre-treated aluminum and industrial pure aluminum ingot, scraping the surface of the aluminum liquid and taking out impurities, and adding “solid strong acid”, silicon, copper, iron, and rare earth metal. Nano-carbonate is added. Nitrogen is added from the bottom (page 2). However, CN ‘874 does not suggest adding Ni as claimed.
CN 105970039 A (CN ‘039) teaches adding aluminum ingot or molten aluminum liquid into a smelting furnace at 700 °C, adding Mn, Cd, Cu, Ni and Lewis acid-base pairs, and refining the melt (page 5). However, CN ‘039 does not suggest adding Ni before refining and deslagging as claimed.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Chen (US 11,618,935 B1) claims a method of manufacturing an aluminum alloy by adding Si, Mg, and Fe.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Tima M. McGuthry-Banks whose telephone number is (571)272-2744. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday, 7:30 am to 4:00 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Keith D. Hendricks can be reached at (571) 272-1401. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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Tima M. McGuthry-Banks
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1733
/Tima M. McGuthry-Banks/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1733
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