DETAILED ACTION
This is in response to communication received on 4/15/26.
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
The text of those sections of AIA 35 U.S.C. code not present in this action can be found in previous office actions dated 5/23/25, 8/14/25, and 1/15/26.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 4/15/26 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The claim rejection(s) under AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Van Engelen US PG Pub 2014/0305863 hereinafter ENGELEN in view of Verduzco et al. US PG Pub 2020/0071200 hereinafter VERDUZCO and Van Der Wal et al. US PGPub 2013/0186761 hereinafter VANDERWAL on claims 10-13 is withdrawn because the independent claims have been amended.
Claim(s) 10 and 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Van Engelen US PG Pub 2014/0305863 hereinafter ENGELEN in view of Van Der Wal et al. US PGPub 2013/0186761 hereinafter VANDERWAL and Nakayama et al. US PGPub 2021/0053849 hereinafter NAKAYAMA.
As for claim 10, ENGELEN teaches "A process for making a composite membrane comprising the steps: (i) providing a moving poriferous support (1) impregnated with a curable composition, wherein the composition is present in the pores of the support and on a surface of the support" (abstract, lines 1-5), "Ion permeable membranes are useful in a number of applications, including ... capacitive deionisation used in e.g. flow through capacitors (FTC) for the purification of water" (paragraph 183, lines 1-6), "Polar solvents, especially aqueous solvents, are preferred because these are particularly good at dissolving component" (paragraph 88, lines 19- 21), and providing a moving poriferous support impregnated with a curable composition, wherein the composition is present in the pores of the support and on a surface of the support (paragraph 10) i.e. a method of manufacturing a capacitive deionization electrode laminate comprising: an impregnation step of impregnating a porous substrate layer with a hydrophilic polymer solution comprising a hydrophilic polymer and filling the hydrophilic polymer into pores of the porous substrate layer.
ENGELEN further teaches "(iii) after performing step (ii), irradiating the support, thereby curing the composition present therein" (abstract, lines 7-9) and "The curable composition preferably comprises a compound comprising at least two curable groups, i.e. a crosslinking agent" (paragraph 37), i.e. wherein the crosslinking step of impregnating the porous substrate layer… in a crosslinking solution comprising one or more crosslinking agents to crosslink the hydrophilic polymer filled into the pores of the porous substrate layer and form a crosslinked hydrophilic polymer inside the pores of the porous substrate layer is not a separate step from the application of the curable composition. ENGELEN teaches applying the curable composition and the crosslinking agents as a mixture into the proes and then crosslinks them within the pores of the poriferous substrate.
Therefore, ENGELEN is silent on wherein the cross-linking solution is different from the hydrophilic polymer solution.
VANDERWAL teaches "The invention relates to an apparatus to remove ions (e.g., to purify an aqueous solution), such an apparatus comprising an ion exchange membrane, an ion exchange membrane comprising a polymer and a method for preparing such a polymer'' (paragraph 1) and "A method for water purification is by capacitive deionization" (paragraph 3, line 1-2).
VANDERWAL also teaches "The crosslinking reaction may be performed in a coating or a film, such that a sheet of crosslinked HBP is formed. The reactive film may be prepared by any processing technique feasible, such as for example by spraying a solution that contains both the HBP and the crosslinker onto a surface, or by applying such a solution onto a substrate by any coating technique, e.g. by a so-called doctor blading technique. The crosslinking reaction may be performed directly onto the surface or substrate of choice, for example onto a specific support layer or onto an electrode" (paragraph 115, lines 2-11) and "The crosslinking step may also at first instance be done in a reactor, and may subsequently be transferred to the object, substrate or surface of choice, where the reaction may be completed" (paragraph 116, lines 1-4).
In summation, VANDERWAL establishes that the crosslinking of a polymer and a crosslinker can take place on the substrate as desired, either totally or partially, as part of a solution that is applied mid-reaction or even after the reaction is completed. VANDERWAL is silent on providing the crosslinking agent after the application of the polymer to the surface, but does establish that switching the order of the steps was well within the skill of the ordinary artisan in this art and produced equivalent results.
In this case, the transposition of steps such that the mixing of the polymer and crosslinker happens inside the pores of the desired substrate instead of in a container prior to application, such that ENGELEN's process includes a crosslinking step of coating the hydrophilic polymer-coated porous substrate layer with a crosslinking solution comprising one or more cross-linking agents ... wherein the cross-linking solution is different from the hydrophilic polymer solution, was within the skill of the ordinary artisan, as established by VANDERWAL.
ENGELEN is silent on an ion exchange layer formation step of coating one or both surfaces of the porous substrate layer filled with the crosslinked hydrophilic polymer with an ion exchange resin solution.
JEONG teaches “A method for manufacturing an ion exchange membrane is provided” (abstract) and “Further, the ion exchange membrane may be used for a liquid filter, an air filter, a capacitive deionization (CDI) device, or electrodialysis (ED)” (paragraph 19).
JEONG further teaches “Further, in one or more steps of Steps (B) and (D), the ion exchange solution may be sprayed into the support fiber mat so that the ion exchange solution overflows. Further, after Step (C) or (D), the method further includes (E) applying heat and pressure to compress the first support fiber mat and the second support fiber mat so that the ion exchange solution permeates into voids remaining in the support fiber mat” (paragraph 39-40), i.e. wherein the application of the coating is done so that it permeates through the entire membrane forming a coating on all surfaces of the fiber mat, i.e. ion exchange layer formation step of coating one or both surfaces of the porous substrate layer filled with the crosslinked hydrophilic polymer with an ion exchange resin solution.
JEONG goes on to place that membrane in a stack of other membranes (paragraph 42) and “An aspect of the present invention is directed to a method of manufacturing an ion exchange membrane in
which it is possible to simply control factors, such as the thickness, electroconductivity, and mechanical strength of the membrane, and pore diameter/ratio, etc. to be suitable for the purpose during the manufacturing process of the ion exchange membrane, and to simplify the manufacturing process by allowing a filling process of an ion exchange solution to be omitted, etc” (paragraph 5).
It would have been obvious to include an ion exchange layer formation step of coating one or both surfaces of the porous substrate layer filled with the crosslinked hydrophilic polymer with an ion exchange resin solution in the process of ENGELEN because JEONG teaches that providing such a membrane fully coated in ion exchange resin allows for it to be used in a membrane stack that allows for control over many factors and simplifies the manufacturing process.
As for claim 13, As for claim 13, ENGELEN Is silent on the weight of the polymer.
VANDERWAL teaches "The hyperbranched ( co )polymer according to an embodiment has a number average molecular weight (Mn) in the range of 250 Dalton to 100,000 Dalton, from 500 Dalton to 50,000 Dalton, from 750 Dalton to 25,000 Dalton, or a molecular weight of 1000 Dalton to 10,000 Dalton" (paragraph 40, lines 1-5). It is expected that a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention could have converted the Dalton to a g/mol, which overlap with the instant claimed range of wherein a weight average molecular weight of the hydrophilic polymer is 3000glmol or less. In the case where the claimed ranges "overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art" a prima facie case of obviousness exists. In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 16 USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990); In re Geisler, 116 F.3d 1465, 1469-71, 43 USPQ2d, 1362, 1365-66 (Fed. Cir. 1997). See MPEP 2144.05.
VANDERWAL also teaches "The preparation methods and reactants ( e.g. branching monomer, co-monomer, initiator and/or chain transfer agent) described herein are versatile in the sense that the HBP can be prepared from readily available monomers and reactants, and that it can be tailored with respect to its properties by simply varying the used amounts of the branching monomer, the co-monomer(s), the initiator and the chain transfer agent. The extent of branching of the hyperbranched (co) polymer may be controlled by adjusting the amount of branching monomer in the polymerization reaction, while the use of the types and amounts of co-monomers may determine the type and amount of ion exchange groups and/or reactive groups in the HBP. Care may be taken to select a ratio between the chain transfer agent and the branching monomer such that gelation is prevented during the polymerization reaction, while still generating a HBP of a substantial molecular weight" (paragraph 93, lines 1- 14).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to include wherein a weight average molecular weight of the hydrophilic polymer is 3000glmol or less in the process of ENGELEN because VANDERWAL teaches that such a molecular weight polymer is provides proper gelation while maintaining other properties.
Claim(s) 11- 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Van Engelen US PG Pub 2014/0305863 hereinafter ENGELEN in view of Van Der Wal et al. US PGPub 2013/0186761 hereinafter VANDERWAL and Nakayama et al. US PGPub 2021/0053849 hereinafter NAKAYAMA as applied to claim 10 above, and further in view of Verduzco et al. US PG Pub 2020/0071200 hereinafter VERDUZCO.
As for claim 11, ENGELEN is silent on wherein the hydrophilic polymer includes a vinyl alcohol based polymer.
ENGELEN does teach "A preferred curable composition comprises: (i) 2.5 to 80 wt% of crosslinking agent(s) comprising at least two ethylenically unsaturated groups" (paragraph 42-43).
VERDUZCO teaches "A method of forming an electrode for capacitive de ionization includes ... depositing an solution comprising an ion-exchange material, a second crosslinkable hydrophilic polymer, and a crosslinker for the second crosslinkable hydrophilic polymer onto the crosslinked porous layer; and optionally annealing and/or drying the solution on the crosslinked porous layer" (abstract).
VERDUZCO teaches "In one or more embodiments, the first and second crosslinkable hydrophilic polymer may be, independent from each other, selected from the group consisting of polyvinyl alcohol" (paragraph 60, lines 1-4).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to include wherein the hydrophilic polymer comprises polyvinyl alcohol in the process of ENGELEN because VERDUZCO teaches that such a polyvinyl alcohol polymer allows for the production of an anion selective electrode.
As for claim 12, ENGELEN teaches crosslinking agents but is silent on wherein in the cross/inking step, any one or more cross/inking agents are selected from the group consisting of glutaraldehyde (GA), diallylamine and triallylamine.
VERDUZCO teaches "A method of forming an electrode for capacitive de ionization includes ... depositing an solution comprising an ion-exchange material, a second crosslinkable hydrophilic polymer, and a crosslinker for the second crosslinkable hydrophilic polymer onto the crosslinked porous layer; and optionally annealing and/or drying the solution on the crosslinked porous layer" (abstract).
VERDUZCO teaches "In one or more embodiments, the cross-linker for the first and second cross-linkable hydrophilic polymers may be, independent from each other, at least one of sulfosuccinic acid, formaldehyde, glyoxal, adipic aldehyde, a dicarboxylic acid, a tricarboxylic acid, a polycarboxlic acid, anhydrides, acid chlorides, a silane, 3- glycidyloxypropyl) trimethoxysilane (GOPS), polyethylene glycol (PEG) and glutaraldehyde" (paragraph 64).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to include wherein in the crosslinking step, any one or more crosslinking agents are selected from the group consisting of glutaraldehyde (GA) in the process of ENGELEN because VERDUZCO teaches that such a crosslinker was known as a crosslinker and was able to be used in concert with other crosslinkers.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 4/15/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant principal arguments are summarized and addressed below:
(a) Applicant alleges that ENGELEN doesn't teach crosslinking the polymeric resin, but according to paragraphs 40, 73 and 117, ENGELEN discloses the crosslinking agent crosslinks the composite membrane itself rather than the polymeric resin or the oligomers present in the pores of the support.
Examiner notes that this is a misreading of ENGELEN. The crosslinking is crosslinking the polymers of the solution with the poriferous support to make the composite membrane. The polymers and oligomers of the solution make up a part of the composite membrane, so when ENGELEN says the 'resultant composite membrane' has a crosslink density it is referring to the polymers crosslinked within the poriferous support that both make up the composite membrane.
To note, ENGELEN's claim 1 specifically states "A process for making a composite membrane comprising the steps: (i) providing a moving poriferous support impregnated with a curable composition comprising monomers and/ or oligomers that can be cured by irradiation to form a polymeric resin... (iii) after performing step (ii), irradiating the support, thereby curing the composition present therein" This makes it clear the solution is what is being crosslinked to form the final composite membrane.
Applicant's arguments cannot be persuasive as it is not reflective of ENGELEN's actual teachings.
(b) Applicant states that VERDEZCO teaches away because of the construction of its elements.
Examiner notes that this is not a teaching away, but rather VERDEZCO describing a specific invention. As made clear by JEONG in the rejection above, applying the ion exchange resin on all sides of a membrane within a CDI device was known and useful for producing membrane layers with tight control over their properties (see rejection above).
Conclusion
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/KRISTEN A DAGENAIS/Examiner, Art Unit 1717
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