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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 9-30 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 4/25/25.
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.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO 2011025867 to Lin in view of US 5389449 to Afeyan.
Claims 1-4, 6-8:
Lin teaches a method for manufacturing an ion exchange membrane that forms a cross-linked ion-transferring polymeric layer on a surface of a polymeric microporous substrate. The process includes the polymeric microporous substrate (pg. 9) coated with a solution of charged monomer (i.e., iongenic monomer), multifunctional monomer, and polymerization initiator and polymerized/crosslinked by heat or UV (pg. 13).
Lin does not teach adsorbing a further chlorosulfonated methacrylate group to this cross-lined ion-transferring polymeric layer or the subsequent aminating and functionalization.
However, Afeyan teaches the surface modification of ion exchange membranes (abstract). The process applies a halosulfonating agent onto the substrate (4:61-65), such as a chlorosulfonating agent (4:66-68), aminating the chlorosulfonated surface by applying PEI (5:50-63), and functionalizing the amine groups in the PEI (i.e., quaternized; positively charged) (6:10-13).
Afeyan does not teach the chlorosulfonating agent includes a methacrylate group, although is open to any agent that can react with various substrate to produce chlorosulfone groups on the substrate surface (5:42-48).
Turning back to Lin, the main monomer used by Lin is 2-SEM. By comparison, the claimed chlorosulfonated methacrylate compound is 2-methacryloyloxy ethylsulfonyl.
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These compositions are the same except for the substitution of and -OH group for a -Cl group.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to practice the method of Lin followed by the method of Afeyan to produce a functionalized ion exchange membrane. It further would have been obvious to use the chlorinated 2-SEM as the chlorosulfonating agent in order to maintain compositional consistency across the membrane structure, better incorporate it into the cross-linked ion-transferring polymeric layer, and avoids the problem of forming undesirable sulfonic acid groups (5:11-32).
Claim 5:
Afeyan teaches PEI with a MW from 600-1000000 Da (5:59).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 8/19/25 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
As Applicant points out, Afeyan teaches both an amine that is quaternized or derivatized. In both of these cases, an R group is added to the amine. Adding an R group to the amine is functionalizing it. This is also functionalizing with a charged compound layer in an analogous manner as aminating to form an amine group layer. That is, it is internally consistent with the way that “layer” is being used in the claim.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALEX A ROLLAND whose telephone number is (571)270-5355. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10-6:30.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Curtis Mayes can be reached at 5712721234. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ALEX A ROLLAND/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1759