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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, claims 1 – 11, in the reply filed on January 6, 2026 is acknowledged.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1 – 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by WO 2019/212648 to Xu et al. (hereinafter referred to as Xu).
Claims 1 – 11 disclose product-by-process claims where a carbon molecular sieve membrane is formed using pyrolysis on different precursor polymers. As discussed in claims 1 – 15, Xu also discloses a carbon molecular sieve membrane obtained by pyrolysis of a polymer precursor for the separation of mixtures of gases comprising C2H4, C2H6, C3H6, and C3H8. While, the precursor polymers recited in Xu are not exactly the same as the claimed polymers, there is no evidence the resulting carbon molecular sieve membrane has a different structure. The precursor polymers are carbonized by the pyrolysis step and their structure does not remain in the final product.
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.
Claims 1 – 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Patent Application No. 2019/0194393 to Ghanem et al. (hereinafter referred to as Ghanem) in view of Xu.
In regard to claims 1 – 11, Ghanem discloses polymer materials, such as in paragraph [0007], that are oxygen-free ladder polymers of intrinsic microporosity. As discussed in paragraphs [0002], [0007], and [0026], the polymers can be used to make membranes. Ghanem, however, does not disclose forming a carbon molecular sieve membrane by performing pyrolysis on these polymers. As discussed in the background of Xu (see pages 1 – 3), it is known to perform pyrolysis on polymer membranes to form carbon molecular sieve membranes. Predictably, performing pyrolysis on the polymer membranes of Ghanem would also result in carbon molecular sieve membranes. As further discussed in the background of Xu, the carbon molecular sieve membranes can have improved separation performance over the polymer membranes.
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ghanem to perform a pyrolysis step on the oxygen-free ladder polymer of intrinsic microporosity as suggested by Xu in order to form a carbon molecular sieve membrane as this is a known process and can result in a membrane with better separation performance for a given desired separation.
The resulting product is considered have the same structure as the carbon molecular sieve membrane formed by the process steps recited in claims 1 – 11 of the present application.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Other prior art references listed on the PTO-892 (Notice of References Cited) are considered to be of interest disclosing similar membrane products.
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/ROBERT CLEMENTE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1773