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 .
DETAILED ACTION
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 4/21/2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
The Amendment filed 4/21/2026 has been entered and fully considered
Claim(s) 1,2,3,4,5,6,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16 are pending, of which claim(s) 1,8,13,15 were amended; The amendments of claim(s) 1,8,13,15 are supported by the originally filed disclosure;
The previous claim objection portion specifically with regard to the previous period has been withdrawn in light of Applicant’s amendment(s) to the claim(s).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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(s) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by "Gelled Graphene Oxide-Ionic Liquid Composite Membranes with Enriched Ionic Liquid Surfaces for Improved CO2 Separation" (herein known as FAM)
With regard to claim 1, FAM sufficiently teaches a separation membrane comprising a separation functional layer including:, especially at title
graphene oxide, especially at abstract
an ionic liquid that is a salt in a liquid state at 25°C; and , especially at abstract; pg 7395 col 1, pg 7389 col 1
a polymer, especially at abstract
wherein the graphene oxide and the polymer are dispersed in the ionic liquid, and, especially at abstract
wherein the polymer has a polar group, especially at abstract; Pebax (polyether block amide) contains polar groups of polar polyamide (PA) segments
With regard to claim 2, FAM sufficiently teaches
wherein the ionic liquid is hydrophilic, especially at abstract; Pebax (polyether block amide) contains polar groups of polar polyamide (PA) segments, i.e. hydrophilic
With regard to claim 3, FAM sufficiently teaches
wherein the ionic liquid contains an imidazolium ion, especially at abstract
With regard to claim 4, FAM sufficiently teaches
wherein the ionic liquid contains tetrafluoroborate, especially at abstract
With regard to claim 5, FAM sufficiently teaches
wherein a content of the ionic liquid in the separation functional layer is wt% within the claimed range, especially at abstract
With regard to claim 6, FAM sufficiently teaches
wherein the polymer is compatible with each of the graphene oxide and the ionic liquid, especially at abstract
With regard to claim 8, FAM sufficiently teaches
an ether group, especially at abstract; Pebax contains ether group
With regard to claim 9, FAM sufficiently teaches
wherein the polymer includes a polyether block amide, especially at abstract
With regard to claim 10, FAM sufficiently teaches
a porous support member supporting the separation functional layer, especially at sections 1,2, pg 7397 col 1
With regard to claim 11, FAM sufficiently teaches
gutter (an intermediate layer) disposed between the separation functional layer and the porous support member, especially at sections 1,2, pg 7397 col 1
With regard to claim 12, FAM sufficiently teaches
being for use in separating carbon dioxide from a gas mixture containing carbon dioxide and nitrogen, especially at abstract
With regard to claim 13, FAM sufficiently teaches A separation membrane manufacturing method comprising:, especially at abstract
applying a thin film (coating) liquid containing graphene oxide, especially at abstract
an ionic liquid that is a salt in a liquid state at 25°C, and , especially at abstract; pg 7395 col 1, pg 7389 col 1
a polymer to a "support" (substrate) to obtain a coating film, especially at pg 7397 col 1
drying the coating film as to obtain a separation functional layer in which the graphene oxide and the polymer are dispersed in the ionic liquid, especially at pg 7395 col 2
With regard to claim 15, FAM sufficiently teaches a thin film (coating) liquid being capable of being applied to a substrate to manufacture a separation membrane that comprises a separation functional layer, the coating liquid comprising:, especially at abstract; Apparatus claims must be structurally distinguishable from the prior art in terms of structure, not function. The manner of operating an apparatus does not differentiate an apparatus claim from the prior art, if the prior art apparatus teaches all of the structural limitations of the claim (see MPEP § 2114 & § 2173.05(g))
graphene oxide, especially at abstract
an ionic liquid that is a salt in a liquid state at 25°C, especially at abstract; pg 7395 col 1, pg 7389 col 1
and a polymer, especially at abstract
wherein in the separation functional layer, the graphene oxide and the polymer are dispersed in the ionic liquid, and, especially at abstract
wherein the polymer has a polar group, especially at abstract; Pebax (polyether block amide) contains polar groups of polar polyamide (PA) segments
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.
Claim(s) 14, 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over "Gelled Graphene Oxide-Ionic Liquid Composite Membranes with Enriched Ionic Liquid Surfaces for Improved CO2 Separation" (herein known as FAM)
With regard to claim 14, FAM of does not specifically teach wherein the coating liquid has a viscosity of 0.15 Pa·s or more at 25°C.
FAM sufficiently teaches wherein the coating liquid has a viscosity of "18 cP" (0.018 Pa-s); and that inversing viscosity (i.e. gelation) helps to trap the dispersed GO particles, especially at section 3.1
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention (or at the time the invention was made; if pre-AIA ) to provide the coating liquid of FAM with a viscosity within the claimed range of FAM that increasing viscosity (i.e. gelation) helps to trap the dispersed GO particles, especially at section 3.1; otherwise, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art (MPEP 2144.05 PART II-A)
With regard to claim 16, FAM of does not specifically teach having a viscosity of 0.15 Pa-s or more at 25°c.
FAM sufficiently teaches wherein the coating liquid has a viscosity of "18 cP" (0.018 Pa-s); and that inversing viscosity (i.e. gelation) helps to trap the dispersed GO particles, especially at section 3.1
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention (or at the time the invention was made; if pre-AIA ) to provide the coating liquid of FAM with a viscosity within the claimed range of FAM that increasing viscosity (i.e. gelation) helps to trap the dispersed GO particles, especially at section 3.1; otherwise, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art (MPEP 2144.05 PART II-A)
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 4/21/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The previous claim objection portion specifically with regard to the previous period has been withdrawn in light of Applicant’s amendment(s) to the claim(s).
In response to the Rejection Under 35 U.S.C. § 103, the information disclosure statement prompted the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANTHONY R SHUMATE whose telephone number is (571)270-5546. The examiner can normally be reached on M,T,Th,F.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Benjamin Lebron can be reached on (571)272-0475. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/ANTHONY SHUMATE/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1776
Prosecution Insights